


The Vampire Diaries; Supernova

by Randomfandoming



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Attempt at Humor, Biracial Character, Bisexual Female Character, Childhood Friends, Don't Judge Me, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, F/M, Female Friendship, Girl Power, How Do I Tag, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, I Don't Even Know, I Tried, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Implied Sexual Content, Inappropriate Humor, Love Triangles, Magic, Major Original Character(s), Mild Sexual Content, Original Bennett Witch, Original Character-centric, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sexual Humor, Some Plot, Teenage Drama, Twins, Underage Drinking, Underage Drug Use, Unrequited Love, What-If, but not, maybe smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2018-11-29 05:58:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 21
Words: 153,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11434596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Randomfandoming/pseuds/Randomfandoming
Summary: This isn't normal, but neither is she. She knows that she might die, again, but she'd be willing to die for them. She loves them, she's never been in love before and maybe she never will, but she loves them, her scooby-gang, her best friends. Follow this OC's journey in navigating The Vampire Diaries, see her lose herself, find herself, her friends and maybe even love.





	1. New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written anything in a long while like since 2015, mainly because I didn't like my writing style.
> 
> I don't have a beta and don't really want one, this story is going to be mostly friendship, I wrote this for myself as an outlet and some of the OC's characteristics are my own that being typed there's a lot of stuff my character is going to do that I would never, I don't know what ships I'm sticking to and I'm not sticking to canon completely, I'm going to change things not a lot but enough to be noticeable. I wanted to weave this character into the plot, so she's Mystic Falls born, I want the other characters to love her and some to hate her guts, because a character is not real until someone hates them. My character is sarcastic, hides behind her mouth, free spirited, paranoid and not yet ready for love, she's very loyal and possessive of her friends. This is going to have some sexual humor I'm not sure if I'm going to do smut, because everytime I try to write smut I giggle like a fourteen year old fan girl, but sex is implied. A LOT. As the character grows older I picture her as Vanessa Morgan, she's the one who really struck me as Bennett Witch material and she kind of looks like Kat.
> 
> I don't know where I'm going with this only that I'm trying to start writing my idea's out instead of letting them wilt, I'm doing this for me, not for anybody else, so if you don't like this story I'm sorry I wasted your time. If you love it then thank you and I love you.

Death.

It isn't as peaceful as some may think, at least it wasn't for her, she can't speak for the rest of the universe.

She had thought about death before, when she got lost in her thoughts one too many times. She never wanted to die young or anything like that, she just always thought of the ways she'd like to die, where she would go when she died.

She's never been really religious, she believes in a higher being, even in aliens, the universe too big and fantastic to be the only intelligent species, sometimes she'll even believe in the supernatural.

But she never had much of a _faith_ in anything.

She blames her overly religious mother and her slightly cynical way of thinking for the lack of faith.

She had thought about dying heroically saving someone during a robbery, which she thought to be unlikely given how hesitant and cowardly she thinks she is, but she'd like to think she'd be brave when it would count, or when she's feeling optimistic she'd die holding her last love of her life, old enough to see her great-grandchildren. Her thoughts on where she would go when she died varied with her moods, sometimes she'll think of Heaven, like in Supernatural, or the Underworld in Percy Jackson.

She's obsessed with mythology, and the odd; histories theories of life and death, vary with each culture, religion and as time goes on so do the theories.

No one can say her imagination is lacking.

She could never settle on a place she'd like to go when she died, which is probably why she went, where she went, when she finally did kick the bucket.

Buffyverse had different dimensions of Hell, Supernatural-verse Hell was mostly about the stick or the carrot, you got tortured and to get it to stop all you had to do was turn to the dark side, and no they didn't have any cookies. She has a lot of faults, but she never really thought about any version of Hell as a place she deserved to go.

Her main fault is either thinking too much or too little, she can be so indecisive about things.

She kind of likes lying, mainly cause she's good at it.

Mind games amuse her.

She's anti-social.

She's sarcastic with a razor sharp mouth that can talk her into and out of trouble depending on what she says; sometimes she'll say something mean without thinking.

Once she's obsessed with something it's hard to pull her away and sometimes that can make her ignore the world around her; but when you have her love, she'll be loyal to a fault.

And she's selfless to the point it worried her only friend.

As she got older she tried to look at things from the other person's point of view before judging them, which isn't easy but makes her feel like a better person.

She can easily make friends, almost as fast as she can lose them.

She never knew she was going to die with only her poor cat for company in her old apartment building in downtown Chicago. She thought she had time to get her shit together, maybe finally visit her mom, put flowers on her grandmother's grave, have that movie marathon she's been putting off with her friend, she never got to say I love you to anyone other than her family and friend, or have kids.

But life - or death, never ends up completely how people think it'd turn out.

If you haven't figured it out yet this is the story of how she died, the first time anyway.

 

* * *

 

 

 

Waking up was never easy for her but she had been jolted awake by the fire alarm in her apartment building at 4 AM. Having only just fallen asleep 3 hours ago she had been slightly confused what was going on but caught onto what was happening when she heard the alarm blare again.

Tripping out of her bed she grabbed her important things as quickly as she could, her black cat, Merlin, and her leather laptop bag.

She could hear a firetrucks sirens in the distance, too distant, so she ran to her apartment door touching the door knob only to yelp in pain snatching her hand back,"Too hot." She looks down and see's the flames licking at her door, her body shaking with fear the cat meows worriedly sensing her fear. "It'll be okay Merlin, who knows maybe good looking firemen will rescue us." She says with fake cheer, stumbling over to her only window, opening it and sticking her head out, she squints at the scene below, the fire must have come from the top first because the flames haven't reached the bottom floor, she see's all the tenants who live on the bottom floors rushing out the doors.

She'd bet everything in her apartment that Mr. Thomas, who lives four doors over, was the one to start the fire, he's a smoker that never listens to the new landlady that tries to get him to stop smoking indoors but he never listens; And the landlady never has the guts, or lack of heart, to kick him out because he and wife had been the previous owners of the building, meaning the landlady turns a blind eye to most of the shit he does, like smoke indoors or forget to pay rent, his wife died three years ago, she only had met Mrs. Thomas once, but she had been sweet and welcomed her to the neighborhood with an mouth watering apple pie. He had quit smoking for her only to start again once she died. Mr. Thomas is also old as dirt, and started forgetting things like the date, she wouldn't be surprised if he finally kicked the bucket with a lit cigarette in his hand.

She looks out the window looking down at the high drop, she won't make it, even with sheets tied together to shorten the drop it's too high up, all of her bones would break.

Her choices are to fall and break all the bones in her body or burn alive.

Great choices, she thinks sarcastically.

Not giving up yet she tightly holds onto Merlin and she grabs her sheets, running to the door, "I'm not fucking dying a twenty-one year old virgin." She mumbles under her breathe, opening it with the thin sheet. Fire, consumes her floor, she can hear screams next door, the stairs are ash. She whimpers in fear mixed with frustration and slams the door but knows it won't do any good because the flames are already burning her door, filling smoke in her apartment.

"I'm going to die a twenty-one year old virgin." She says, in panic.

Dropping her laptop bag with a loud thud that echoes in the small apartment as she backs away from the flame that's now in her apartment, smoke surrounding her, dropping onto the floor next to her bed with a loud cough. She cuddles with her cat crying and coughing, she knows that despite hearing the fire trucks outside, they'll be too late to get to her, her being on the top floor and all, or what used to be the top floor. So she lays on the floor by her bed crying like a baby, holding her cat, looking away from the flames which are quickly surrounding her. She looks into her cat's vivid green, feline eyes, "See you in the next life." She says hoarsely, not knowing how her words are going to be quite literal.

She died by fire. It was slow, it was painful, and way too morbid to describe in detail.

Death by fire, it's ironic for reasons you'll know soon enough.

That's how she died, but this story isn't how she died, it's how she came back from the dead.

Freaky right?

Somebody call the Winchesters!

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

She feels odd, she knows she's not on her earth anymore, maybe not even in her same universe, it's not anything that makes her think that, like a road sign that says 'next stop Parallel Universe'. It's just a feeling, like everything that used to be and she used to be, shifted.

It's dark all the time and she doesn't really have a body to move around, it just feels like her conscience is existing. She knows someone is in this place with her, she doesn't know how she knows these things, only that she can 'feel' someone in this place with her, not physically but mentally. What she doesn't know is where the hell she is, she's hoping the hell part isn't literal because this might actually be her own personal Hell, because she's bored, she hates being bored. She was always doing things with her mind if not her body, because she gets bored easily.

She's tried moving after a while when she finally feels like she _has_ something to move, but she's too slow, she feels sluggish, like that time she took way too much Tylenol PM.

Sometimes whoever is here with her will kick her, she can't really feel it, but still.

Rude.

She totally kicks back.

 

* * *

 

 

Over the course of what feels like forever but is only 9 months she slowly forgets things, some small, like her favorite color, some big, like her own name. The only thing she remembers with clarity inside whatever purgatory she's in, is that she died. She loses track of time and soon thinks this is what death is.

A boring and dark place with nothing but your fading thoughts to keep you entertained. If it is she'll probably go insane within a year, maybe two.

Then air fills up her lungs for the first time in 9 months and she cries in sheer relief only to pause when she hears what sounds like a baby wailing. She's being picked up by big hands cleaning off the jello-but not jello but blood clinging to her body, she opens her eyes only to see a big blur of blue and white, she knows she has shit vision but it's never been this bad. It feels really fucking odd being picked up because she hasn't been picked up by anyone since she was a kid.

Wait a fucking minute.

Bullfuckingshit.

She starts crying again, louder than before, squirming her too tiny limbs and when she cries she hears the baby crying and then it all hits her; she's been reincarnated, she's a fucking baby. When she cries again she hears another baby's cry syncing with hers, she assumes it was the person who was with her in what she now knows was someone's womb. Which means she's a twin, someone who she assumes a nurse is holding her trying to soothe her, cooing, but it's not working, maybe if she was a actual baby it would have. She's passed off to someone else, someone who she assumes is her 'mother' because next thing she knows she's looking at the blurry image of a woman. "Hello, there sweetheart." The woman says, with a slight wonder in her voice stroking her small baby cheeks.

She still can't believe she's a _baby_ , no matter how open minded she is, this is still the craziest thing that has ever happened to her. She doesn't think she could ever call this blur of colors of a woman 'mom', mainly because she's still trying to come to terms that she's alive because she had accepted she was dead and not only is she alive she's a baby, but also because no matter her own mom's faults and problems, which were plenty, her mother at least stayed by her side throughout the years, which cannot be said for her father.

Speaking of fathers she hears a male's voice say,"She needs a name, have you decided on a name for her?" The baby in question is wondering about her twin, and where they are, she internally panics, because even though she hasn't properly met her twin yet she felt they bonded together alone in the womb.

"Yes, I think I did, did you decide the name for our youngest." The woman's voice breaks her out of her panic, calming down slightly at the mention of her twin.

"I did." The man says but doesn't elaborate, causing the woman to laugh tiredly.

"Well, tell me our younger daughter's name, don't keep me in suspense." The new mother teases her husband. They sound happy, she's never had the both parents experience maybe this will be a second chance for a happy family. It's weird being a baby yet fully comprehending the words spoken, she's just glad she wasn't born in a place that doesn't speak english, just the thought of having to learn a whole new language and culture gives her a headache.

Her thoughts are cut off by the name of her twin. "Bonnie."

"Bonnie." the one who birthed her repeated, testing the name on her tongue.

That's a odd name.

Better than her old name, she thinks, she doesn't actually remember it, she keeps forgetting things; it's probably because she's got a baby's brain, she just hopes she'll remember once she gets older.

Bonnie, Bonnie, like Bonnie and Clyde. Or- "Bonnie Sheila Bennett and Nova Amelia Bennett." The woman says, voice filled with love. "Our daughters." The man says, with equal love in his voice.

Well that name sounds familiar, she swears up and down she knows the last name. But every time she thinks she has the answer it slips from her grasp, like trying to hold water in her hands. All she knows is the name sends a small wave a terror that she tries to ignore down her small spine.

She was breastfed after the nurse taught the new mother how to, which was a _really disturbing_ experience, and she quickly fell asleep after she's fed.

Nova, her new name is Nova, which is just as odd and unique as the name Bonnie.

Her parents must be hippies, that's the obvious logical conclusion.

Her old name is lost on her, so she'll just have to adapt to this new one, it's fine she's an adaptable person.

Sorta.

She hopes she can get used to it, this new name, this new life. For now she'll sleep as she's driven to her new home a few hours after her and her sisters birth.

 

* * *

 

 

Nova's days as a baby were quite dull, the only upside to being a newborn was that she could get away with doing nothing all day, her hopes that the fire and her death and rebirth was all just a dreams are quickly dashed as the days past by. Her new 'parents' are at least taking care of her properly, no matter how embarrassing it is to have someone change your diapers and feed you, at least they aren't abusing her. Nova has never been physically abused as a child in her past life, but she's not stupid enough to think it doesn't happen, or couldn't have happened to her in her new life, she got lucky in the new parents department. Or at least she thinks so.

Nova is a quiet baby eyes always moving even though she can't see anything, she tries to make sure she only cries when she needs something, like a feeding, changing and sometimes when she's bored and the cooing of adults is her amusement of the day. Her twin sister shares a crib with her, it's a big crib, she's used to sharing spaces, She likes sharing the crib because she had gotten lonely, living alone as a semi-adult. Her new sister is adorable, she can't see her but she knows she's adorable, because sometimes Nova will feel a baby's hand moving towards her own tiny hand at night. Nova's 'dad' isn't around much but her 'mother' is home most of the time and when she isn't her 'Grandma' is, she doesn't mind, considering she just sleeps, eats, and poops all day.

It's hard to see these strange people in roles she knows were filled with other people, not surprisingly her baby twin sister is the one she adjust to first. It's easier to accept that Bonnie is her twin sister because even though she had a older sister and brother in her old life, she at least remembers that, she never had a younger sibling yet alone a twin.

They are going to wreck havoc on the world, that's a fact.

Nova having a new grandma is harder to accept than the new parents part. Her parents from her old life never married each other, her mother and her grandmother raised her together, she never knew her grandfather. Her father in her old life loved her but was never there, he called, he promised he'd do better and then he'd disappoint.

By the time she was ten she stopped expecting too much from people.

Her grandmother from her old life, she doesn't remember her face, just her voice and laugh, what she can say with clarity is that when her mom was mentally ill and dad failed her, her grandmother was there for her, her rock. Always there, until she wasn't. It broke something inside of her when she died; she had never really moved on from her death, but she pushed through life fighting tooth and nail for her dreams because if she did any less her grandma would come back from the dead and kick her ass side ways. Trying to accept this strange blur of a woman as her new grandmother was rather hard, and she doesn't think she ever will, but she does feel affection for this new family, they'll _never_ replace her old family, but it's not hard feeling affection for them. She's always gave her love out pretty easily, even when she's wary of trusting new people, once she lets people in and they let her in, she loves them with everything she has.

A year passes by and Nova get's even more attached to Bonnie, being stuck in a womb and then a crib does that. There are playdates with children who drool as much as she does, her eyesight became less blur during the second month, teething was a bitch in a half she cried herself to sleep every night, and only stopped when she was given a chew toy.

She feels like a dog but fuck that shit called dignity.

Nova has been trying to act like a normal baby and has been succeeding mostly because the only thing she can do is sleep, eat, poop, or talk the secret language of baby. She feels so accomplished, sadly she's not being sarcastic, being a toddler limits her list of fulfillment, her attention span got worse as a baby, which she didn't think was possible. Her vocabulary is limited to garbled words like, bottle, grams, mama, dada, and BonBon. Bonnie's first word was Nova, she still feels smug about that, she had also made sure to only say her first word after Bonnie did, she's only seen a few babies during her last life and never really paid attention to their progress.

She tries not to think of her old life and how she died but sometimes on a bad night she'll lay awake clutching Bonnie's hand and thinking of her old life, sometimes on a even shitter night she'll wake up wailing, remembering her death.

Nova and Bonnie settle into a easy routine, eat, be bathed and cuddled by parents, play with children whose names she doesn't remember the next day, sleep all night until one of them needs a diaper change or be bottle fed, rinse and repeat; at least that's how it went for a year. Then _something_ happened, she's not sure what it was but weeks went by with her mother upset and her grams tense, even her father spent more hours with them. Her new mother started checking up on them more, until one day she held us both for one hour long and then left; and never came back. First she thought her new mother died, and she had started to mourn as only a baby could, by crying, causing Bonnie to join in.

But when no funeral came, and there was no weeping or air of mourning from their Grams and father, just disappointment and weary resignation, it became obvious Nova's new mother wasn't dead but abandoned them, the thought hurt her more than she thought it would. She's always had abandonment issues, this just made it worse, because she had finally started to accept that woman as family. And she just left, not only did she leave, but it felt like she had planned to leave them. That woman didn't just abandon Nova, she abandoned Bonnie, her sister. Nova has the memories of another life, no matter how childish she acts, or how young she died, her soul's still been alive longer than her sister. Nova could ignore the hurt and resentment she feels for the woman she had tentatively called mother - not mom she already had a mom, in her head if she had she been the only one abandoned, but no that woman left her sister, father, and Grams.

She's not in a _'shoving her emotions down into a tiny bottle and forgetting until it implodes'_ mood but she does it anyway because that's how she copes with the bullshit thrown at her.

 

* * *

 

 

 

As the months went on with no word from their mother, their father slowly distanced himself from them, sure he changed diapers and fed them when they cried, but he never holds them to just hold them anymore. The twins feel the change in routine, and the absence of their mother, along with the distance of their father, makes them crabby. Grams ends up filling the role for affection giver as the years quickly pass them by, she stays near them longer than their own father, when it became clear that the whole having both parents to raise her was so not happening in this lifetime either, the more sullen she got. The thing that not alarmed per se but confused her was this connection she felt with the earth, in her old life she was never 'one with nature', she had enjoyed staying in the house watching TV throughout her life, she still does, but she feels this peacefulness she's never felt before playing in her outside with Bonnie at her side; or reading alone under a tree, the bark of the tree holding her up, the leaves shielding her from the sunlight, her bare feet digging in the green grass.

She didn't even scream when Tyler Lockwood put a worm in her pigtails, she just threw it back, in his face.

That's another thing though, her childhood friends names, they bothered her, she didn't know what it was but they sounded familiar, and the one thing that hadn't gone away in this lifetime was her paranoia. But it wasn't until she was nine and playing with her sister and their close group of friends that she found out where she was, and what she and her sister were. The girls; Nova, Bonnie, Caroline and Elena had been playing with Elena's new play tea set, wearing princess outfits. While the boys; Matt and Tyler and a reluctant Jeremy roughhoused in Elena's backyard. When all of a sudden the block on her memories from her past life lifted, the memories hitting her like a freight train.

It hurt like a hammer hitting her on her head, each hit _harder_ than the last, it hurt more mentally more than physically.

Nova paused in the middle of pouring Elena a cup of milk, because no sane adult trusted them with warm tea, she starts clutching her head, her face that still had baby fat scrunched in pain as she tried not to cry out. The girls start to worry, causing the boys to rush over when she drops the plastic teapot on the pink table. She cries out as it all hits her, fainting out of the chair and onto the grass from the pain.

"Nova!" Bonnie cries out in alarm, dropping to grass next to her. The only semi calm one is Caroline as she rushes out of the yard and into the house to get an adult, just like her mommy taught her in an emergency.

Her life from before flashes beneath her closed eyelids, it feels like she's reliving it all over again; her tragic childhood, her depression and loneliness in her teenage years, finding solace in books and TV, her hating the way the world was just so unfair to her but trying to keep moving because it's unfair to everyone, her finding a friend who understood her when she didn't think she ever could find a real true friend, everything from her old life is remembered, her old name, her old face, her old families faces, and then the way she died, the fire and smoke surrounding her, the vibrant green feline eyes that bore into her very soul as the fire burned her flesh.

Then the pain gradually faded and with it so did the reenactment of her death. Nova's watery brown eyes open to see her Grams concerned face hovering above her.

"Nova, are you okay?" A young and hesitant Elena Gilbert says, concerned for her friend.

Nova aims a weak smile at her friends, most kids would have been scared away but they had all stayed, even the boys, with them hovering in the background.

"I'm fine." Nova tries for reassuring, from her Grams lap but failing. She can see Elena's parents in the house through the window shooting worried glances at her, her reply causes Caroline to scoff. "Yeah, because fainting in the middle of the day is fine." Caroline sasses, making Nova question how could so much sass could fit in such a small body. Bonnie glares at Caroline with no real heat in her eyes, only concern for her sister. "Caroline!" Bonnie reprimands, causing Caroline to roll her eyes with a slight blush on her cheeks, but Nova just smiles at Caroline, because she gets what it's like to have no filter and making inappropriate comments at inappropriate moments.

"Really I'm fine, it was just a really bad headache." She says and she's not necessarily lying, it was a really bad headache and it really doesn't hurt anymore, she's thinking the pain being gone has to do with why her Grams is here and she's not in the back of a ambulance. Her half hearted reassurances cause Bonnie to relax, causing the others to relax as well; probably because she's known to tell a fib or two and only Bonnie and Grams can tell when she's lying.

The Bennetts soon leave The Gilbert residence, her Grams driving them to her home, because the fraternal twins' father decided to take a plane to who knows where for a _business_ trip.

After getting her old memories Nova's much more aware of the things around her than she was before, her Grams watches her with knowing eyes after that incident, yet she never confronts her, which is odd, it has her on edge for a week before she relaxes and just assumes whatever was found out while she was passed out is of no consequence. Nova's not sure why being at the Gilbert's home brought back her memories, she'd think it'd be hearing the name Bonnie _'fucking'_ Bennett or that one time they went to the Mystic Grill, the only diner in town. But Nova is not going to complain about her memories coming back, instead she starts preparing for the shit storm that is going to be her life, she becomes distracted during playdates, thinking of ways to save the people she cares about and the people she hasn't met but feels like she knows them. When their father was in town she got him to give the twins an allowance, all she had to do was comment on his distant relationship with his daughters and, voila, instantly given affection with money; it didn't work, of course, but at least she got herself a pretty, but old looking journal, with it's brown leather and celtic knot with the leather cord wrapped around it. A young girl not wanting a notebook with pink sparkles and unicorns on it, probably raised a few eyebrows but she likes old stuff, always has, so she ignores the looks.

Nova starts recording everything she can remember from the show, she stopped in the middle of season 6 and remembers some spoilers that she had hated knowing but is now eternally grateful for, she doesn't remember everything but she can recall important stuff. Fuck she hopes she remembered the important stuff, sometimes canon and fanfiction blur together. Nova writes every night in her and Bonnie's room at Grams house, the night light on, they stay at Grams house when their fathers out of town, meaning they have more stuff here then at the empty place they used to could call home. Nova doesn't just write about what she remembers, she'll write about all the ideas she has, which is a long list or the things she wants to try, which is an even longer list, if she dares to even do it. She could never really keep a journal in her old life because she never had a reason to before, her life had been depressing and not all that interesting, now she has a reason. She can't allow herself to forget again; it literally depends on not only her life but the people she loves lives, so if she does ever forget at least she'll have a guide.

Nova really doesn't trust the flimsy leather cord on the journal, with Witches and Vampires actually existing, so she keeps it on her in a purple little shoulder purse at all times until she can spell it shut herself, she doesn't know why anyone would want to read a supposedly eight year old journal but better safe than sorry. She had asked Grams to teach her how to garden, because she's seen her Grams garden when she was younger, but the elder Witch slowly stopped upkeeping it when her daughter left. Nova had asked before she had her full set of memories but hadn't gotten Grams to finally agree after she got them, and that's not suspicious at all. But Grams only agreed on the terms she takes it seriously and to not mess up her garden, or they'd be having words, she agreed because she isn't stupid enough to cross her Grams let alone a powerful Witch; and because Bonnie and her do almost everything together, they learn together.

In her past life always wanted to be special, important, powerful.

Now that she is at least two out of three of those things she's not sure what she ever wanted to do with it.

Being a Witch and knowing she's a Witch, are two very different things, when she didn't know what she was she hadn't really felt anything besides a strong connection with the Earth. But now it's like she's hyper aware she's got power running through her veins, because not only is she a Witch she's a Bennett Witch; she feels honored the universe thought her good enough for this kind of power. The one thing she's not going to uphold is being bound by her ancestors way of thinking, she's not touching Expression with a ten foot pole and neither is Bonnie, if she has a say in it, but she's also not going to ignore the darker side of Magic. Ignoring your Darker side is just asking for trouble, but being at peace with it and having it work in tandem with your Light side seems smarter. She's honestly just guessing but from what she saw from the show was that Bonnie dived in too deep, too soon, with no one to guide her.

Because hypocritical judgemental dead ancestors don't count as teachers, and with everyone relying on Bonnie for just about everything she never seem to find time to just learn Magic for her own enjoyment. That's going to change too, she's not going to be running a charity so if she doesn't like the person asking her for help, she wants compensation. Nova hasn't started practicing anything, she honestly is too scared to, it'd be stupid to try to do something only to end up lighting herself on fire, she shivers at the thought of dying another death by fire. Though she hasn't tried to do anything with her Magic sometimes things just happen, it happens with Bonnie too, but Bonnie always ignores it.

Denial, such a sweet thing. It'll be little things like something falling over when one of the twins get angry, or sad, but sometimes she'll see things.

 _Visions_ ; Nova knows it's Visions, but because of how she was born, who she is, she'll have Visions of what she already knows but was fading, like the reason for the twins biological mother leaving them, or sometimes she'll touch something and it's stuff she didn't know. Like how Grams met her ex-husband, how he left her pregnant when he found out what his wife was. Also explains why Grams never wanted her daughter to be with a normal human. The twins father knew what his wife was before marrying her but never thought much of it, until she left him. At least that's what Nova got from the time she touched her parents wedding picture and ended up having a Vision of their wedding, she had found it when she snooped in her father's room; Nova makes sure to include the Visions in her Journal.

When Nova has a goal set in front of her, she kind of forgets the world around her, so when one day two months after her fainting spell, Bonnie approaches her about why she's suddenly spacing out, more than she used to anyway, she's not surprised, just amused she got caught by someone mentally younger than her. She loves Bonnie, she's actually closer to her than she's ever been to her other life's siblings. But she hesitates to tell her what's bothering her, she'll have to tell her something though because Bonnie is relentless when on a mission, and always just knows when she's hiding something or lying.

Nova makes her sister follow her into the backyard because she's not sure if she wants her Grams listening in on whatever she's about to tell her twin, they sit down on the swing built for them, in the small backyard under the only tree, with it's chopped wood and double knotted rope tied to the big tree, it's seat just big enough for two young kids to sit, right in front of them is the small garden her and Bonnie started adding to as they slowly got a handle on their green thumb. Bonnie is obviously trying to patiently wait for her to speak up.

"You remember how I fainted at Elena's?" Nova fidgets under Bonnie's intense stare. "Yeah?" Bonnie says, with a confused frown at what that has to do with why she's been distant lately.

"And you know how Grams always talks about how we're witches?" Bonnie's get's even more confused but replys,"Yeah, it's kind of hard not too."

Rip it off, like a bandaid, or waxing strips, Nova thinks to herself.

"She's right, about us being witches I mean," Nova says, rather bluntly, when she see's Bonnie obviously about to open her mouth to call her crazy she cuts her sister off,"And I know, it sounds crazy, I thought so too, but I've been having these Visions since I fainted and stuff gets tossed around when I'm angry, and I know it happens to you don't bother denying it Bonnie Sheila Bennett." She finishes, with a slightly frustrated huff. Bonnie goes silent for a long moment, which makes her sort of nervous, and for a moment she thinks her sister is going to run away from her screaming that she's crazy, because sometimes she does feel crazy; she _died_ , and then was aware doing her own rebirth, put into a different Universe, that used to be a fucking television show but now is her life, and now she's a Witch, she thinks she's doing rather well on the not freaking out part.

"I believe you." Bonnie says, pulling her out of her questioning of her sanity. Bonnie, nine-year old Bonnie Bennett says those three words she didn't know she needed with such conviction, she has a brief moment of a Vision where she see's an older version of her twin sister, wind wild with their Magic, smile wide. And she breathes out, because apparently she had been holding her breathe, huh, she hadn't noticed.

"Just like that?" She questions, Bonnie with a look of disbelief.

"Just like that." Bonnie confirms, and continues, "You've never been able to lie to me, you aren't crazy Nova, and apparently neither is Grams." Bonnie has always been mature for her age, sometimes she'll be even more mature than her.

Which is kind of sad now that Nova thinks about. "Good, I knew you would." Nova says with false bravado, causing Bonnie to scoff and giggle slightly.

"You were a nervous wreck, you almost turned blue!"

"Did not!" Nova says, rather childishly.

"Did too!" Bonnie says, equally childish grinning with a twinkle in her green eyes.

They start rather intense staring contest until Nova crosses her eyes causing Bonnie to giggle again.

She can feel Grams eyes on them from the kitchen window and knows that the elder woman probably heard everything they said, she keeps forgetting that this isn't her old universe anymore. With things like coming to terms where she is, who she is, who she isn't any longer, she forgets things like Magic really existing in this world and that she has Magic or the start of the 'plot not so plot anymore but real life' being not just a distant but ever looming figure in the background. It hasn't hit her yet, what she's about to deal with, but it will soon.

"Hey, Nova?" Bonnie questions, causing Nova to tilt her head in question, their short legs swing back and forward, the swing reaching higher and higher off the ground.

"I know you're hiding something from me, besides this whole being Harry Potter stuff, I mean." Bonnie says casually, causing Nova to stiffen,"And I know you don't want to tell me yet," Bonnie ignores her stiffened posture and awkwardly guilty facial features.

"You don't have to tell me, I just wanted to know if you're okay." Bonnie finishes, looking at her twin in worry. Nova sighs in relief, "Can't hide anything from you can I Bonnie?"

"Nope, but if it helps I can't hide anything from you." Bonnie says, grinning childishly.

"I promise, when I'm ready, I'll tell you." Nova promises, slightly nervous about the day she'll have to fess up, she won't ever tell anyone about the fact this was all a television show not to long ago, but she can spill about the fact her soul is reincarnated, the fact she's a powerful Seer should account for her foreknowledge.

"Pinky promise?" Bonnie says in all seriousness while holding her pinky out.

"Pinky promise." Nova agrees back just as seriously, looping their pinkies together.

They giggle again.

"Now what do we do?" Bonnie says, slightly nervous and not completely _believing_ the fact their Witches, which Nova can relate to, and forgives her sister's slight disbelief.

"We learn." Nova says in glee, grabbing Bonnie's hand and practically picked her sister up off the swing. "We learn?" Bonnie echoes, while being dragged back to the house.  "From who?" Bonnie questions confused.

 

"Bonnie, you're forgetting we're not the only Witches in the family!"


	2. Normal, what does that mean?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit happened

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know, I don't sleep. 
> 
> This was way longer than I thought it'd be, next chapter will be the plot, sort of. 
> 
> BLEH. 
> 
> Vanessa Morgan is cast as older Nova
> 
> excuse me while I go cry about my fingers being too slow to keep up with my brain.

The Bennett Twins don't have a hard time convincing their Grams to teach them Magic, in fact it's almost too easy, so much so, Nova has to ask why it was so easy for the girls to convince the elder Witch to teach them when she hadn't sat them down for a serious conversation about their heritage with a demonstration of Grams' own magic.

"All you two had to do was ask, forcing you to learn Magic was never going to work, you had to come to me," Grams says the next day, sitting at the dining room table with them with a little smile on her face, like she's been waiting for this day since they were born.

She probably has been.

"You have to believe in your Magic and that it's yours before you're even taught the basics, always remember that." Grams visibly hesitated before continuing,"Also because your father never wanted you to know what you are."

That's probably why Grams never seriously sat Bonnie down in the show.

"He has no right to do that." Nova says with an angry huff that just looks adorable on her childish face.

"What she said, he's not even here, he's never here." Bonnie says sitting next to her, crossing her arms.

"You're right he doesn't have that right to deny you such things, but your father wanted you two to have a normal life for as long as you could," Grams says with a worried frown at the sulking girls.

"I tried to reason with him but he never listened, always thought Magic would make you distance yourselves from him, only he did that himself."

Grams changes the subject by promising to teach them everything she knows.

And she does.

The older woman has such a passion for Magic that it's not really hard to focus on what the elder Witch teaches them; Nova remembers vaguely that Grams is an Occult teacher at the local community college, the one with the super creepy scientist cult. She's been taking a lot of time off so she can 'help' raise them, more like raise them herself, when asked by a curious Bonnie when she'd go back to teaching she replied with,"When you two troublemakers are old enough to be left alone for more than a minute, then we'll talk."

When the girls aren't at school, which is tedious and mind-numbing for her, or at one of their friends house, which is always embarrassingly fun, she never had an enjoyable childhood in her old life, so sue her for having fun with kids mentally younger than her, they'll be learning witchcraft from the one and only Sheila Bennett.

Turns out there are rules to nature, which she kind of figured, but is still slightly disappointed about.

"Magic is not a weapon, or a new toy to play with," Grams begins sternly looking them both in the eye to make sure they're paying attention to her before continuing,"It's a part of you, in your very veins and something that will never completely go away as long as you accept it, even when you pass to the Other Side." She continues, sitting with them outside on the green grass, the tree providing shade from the bright sun, sage burning in a bowl.

"The Other Side?" Bonnie questions with a frown.

"It's where most of the dead Supernatural go." Sheila clarifies.

"More than just Witches exist don't they." Nova says, rather than questions, causing Bonnie's eyes to go wide in shock and realization for a moment. "Yes, we'll go over that more next time, for now, you can have this." Grams reaching behind her figure and pulled in her hands a worn down leather book the girls hadn't noticed before.

"Read this and memorize it before the year is over; it's a record the Bennett family have on all of the Supernatural Beings our family line has recorded." Grams says before gently handing it over to the twins.

"All of this is just on Supernatural Beings?" Bonnie is in awe of how many pages there are.

"Yes, but that's just the first volume," Grams says with pride, "Bennett Witches have been around for a very long time girls."

The twins look up at their Grams in awe before looking back at the leather bound journal."We'll make sure to take care of it, Grams." Nova says with reverence, while Bonnie simply nods in agreement her green eyes eagerly scanning the pages.

"I know you will, sweethearts." Grams says in such a way that says if they don't take care of it there'll be consequences.

The first thing they learn is the rules of Nature, what it means to be a Witch, the balance and what they can bend and what they can never break.

"Witches are supposed to uphold the laws Nature sets for them, sometimes a Witch will break the rules, for loved ones, or sometimes for themselves, when that happens Nature finds a way to punish the Witch in question, usually it's by having the Spirits take your Magic away."

Between Magic lessons, school, weekly sleepovers with the girls, and avoiding talking about Magic to their father, which is easy since he avoids it as well, the twins are busier than normal kids.

Bonnie asked if they could tell their friends about the twins being Witches but Grams denied the request, if only until they reach a certain level of maturity. Grams promised she'd tell them when it was time. Way back before the Salem Witch trials, and the world's modernization, Supernatural Beings could be open about what they were, now everyone who's Supernatural has to be careful who they trust.

Nowadays young Witches are given a certain time period to mature and learn about who they are as a Supernatural Being; and when their mentor or coven think they're ready they'll be given free rein on what to do with their gifts, say if the Witch, or Warlock, in question wants to tell someone human what they are; it has as much to do with how strong the Witch is as it does with being mentally old enough to decide who to trust. Witches normally start flourishing in both areas at the ages of fifteen or seventeen.

"You can have all the maturity in the world, girls, but you need the experience and knowledge to back it up. I won't hide the darker aspects of witchcraft from you, but you have to remember there are consequences to your actions whenever you defy Nature." Grams says to them at the age of thirteen, "You can bend the rules all you want but never break them for Nature will find a way to punish you." Grams warns them slightly ominously. "Magic is a give and take relationship, especially for the more powerful spells."

Months pass them by with them soaking up the information they are given; they don't practice with their magic until they get the basic rules of Nature down. When they do get the basics down they only actually do small spells, with no incantations, and all intent, like lighting candles, and levitating objects. Their bond of being twins seem to help focus them, their Magic will seemingly feed off of each other until it's combined; they did a simple spell, at the same time, that was supposed to light all of the candles placed in a circle around them, it had the side effect of making the spell even more powerful than it did doing it alone, the candles lite up alright, so did the grass around them.

Nova was forced to get over her fear of fire that day, and from then on they only practice in the woods far away from civilization.

They move onto more in depth teachings when they hit the age fourteen, which is also the time when they got sat down by their Grams for the birds and the bees talk; apparently most Witches are more open in the discussion of sex, she had never had to have the sex talk before, mainly because she had access to the internet at a young age and by the time her family tried to have the talk with her she had already known.

The look of absolute horror on Bonnie's face was worth the embarrassment of having 'the talk' though.

They learned the different types of Magic to make up for the embarrassment of the long hour explanation of where babies come from and the natural 'magic' of birth control and condoms. She had tried to refrain from laughing when her Grams said that, she kind of failed. Grams also may have threatened to skin them if they ever returned home sixteen and pregnant.

There are plenty of different Magics to learn and the girls had to learn about most of them so they could choose what to focus on, they'll learn more along the way but their Grams said it's always good to know and be experienced in at least three Magics; and decent in the rest.

Ancestral Magic is a Magic that you're basically using their remains as a power source so you'll be bound to only be able to do, that type of Magic anyway, near their resting place.

Then there's Voodoo which is more of a religion than a Magic, but the basics of making Voodoo dolls is linking someone's physical energy into an object, with any type of bodily fluids, the human bound to the doll will feel whatever is being done to the doll; then there's Hoodoo, which is not also not really a Magic but also not a religion but mostly about using things such as herbs, flowers, plants, oils, and minerals, as a to get different results for different things, sometimes blessings, sometimes a cure for a curse or maybe a poison. Sometimes it'll work, sometimes it won't, it all depends on the knowledge the person has then the power.

Connective Magic is a form of Magic which allows a Witch to form a semi-permanent bond that draws power from other Supernatural Beings; It's similar to Channeling which isn't really a Magic but a power source. Channeling is all about drawing on power from powerful sources like nature, an element, or celestial events like the sun; the moon, eclipses, aurora's, comet, and sometimes Witches. It's the type of Magic that Bonnie and Nova do unconsciously because of the bond they made in the womb.

Sacrificial Magic is pretty much self-explanatory, the Witch in question will sacrifice animals, humans, or other Supernatural beings to draw on every person's power or energy they sacrificed.

Spirit Magic is sort of like Ancestral Magic in that your drawing on someone else's power only instead of drawing on Ancestors bones, which is super morbid by the way, you'll be drawing power from their Spirits on the Other Side, drawing from Spirit and Body are different, it's also really powerful Magic but also can be limiting because when you use Spirit Magic your channeling Dead Witches, judgemental Dead Witches, so if they don't like what you're using their power for; they can cut you off.

Traditional Magic is Olde and the Purest form of Magic and is what most of the Bennett Witches specialize in, but it's also very draining because it uses your own Energy as a power source.

Dark Magic is when a Witch filled with intent to hurt, kill, torture or benefit for themselves instead of others, it's something to abuse often, every Witch has at least used it once in their lifetime, but get in too deep and Magic will have you pay the price, because most Dark Magic goes against Nature herself.

Expression is not really a form of Witchcraft, it's more a destructive, for the lack of a better word, force that the desperate, unaware or insane call on, it's probably one of the most powerful forms of Dark Magic, but also the most volatile because instead of the Witch controlling it, it could end up controlling the Witch. Grams told them about it with a heavy frown and a warning to not ever touch such Magics because it could twist the very being of what and who they are as Witches and people.

Divination is a is very tricky witchcraft and as vast; there are the mediums all Witches can use, such as tarot cards, mirrors, crystal balls, tea leaves, palm reading, bones, runes, blood, pendulums and some will contact the Spirits or their Ancestors from the other side for guidance. Sometimes a Witch will just know when something with impact is happening like when a death or an unnatural occurrence is going to happen, their minds will blank as they'll unconsciously write numbers or words that'll end up prophetic.

Locator spells are also part of Divinations since Divination is all about knowing that would normally be unknown by unnatural means, but known through supernatural means; Witches will use a map, personal items, and blood to locate the person in question.

Foresight is what Seers use; their eyes usually turn an unnatural shade of blue or white, her eyes, however, remain their color but turn eerily blank, like there's no one home. Divination is always a very vague art of Magic because sometimes the meaning will be completely misread by the Witch; the future is something that always can be changed with the right, or wrong, guiding hand.

Blood Magic is often confused with Sacrificial Magic but unless a Witch weaves together a spell that uses both practices of Magic together no one will need to die; different types of Supernatural Blood have different purposes and outcomes.

Elemental or also known as Earth Magic is the use of the four alchemical elements, Earth, Fire, Water, and Air; Bennetts are known to use this form of Magic as well, the more powerful a Witch the more easily they can use it and incorporate it in rituals and spells. Fire is one of the more commonly used Element that any Witch can use, the rest are harder to use and require may require a more powerful Witch.

Necromancy allows Witches to contact, control and resurrect the dead, not much is said on the subject for all of its popularity.

There are also other more obscure types of Magics that even the Bennetts haven't found enough about.

After discussing the different practices of witchcraft they were told to choose what to focus on for now.

Bonnie chose to focus her interest on Elemental, Traditional, Hoodoo and Channeling. Nova chose to focus on Elemental, Hoodoo, Traditional and Divination.

They'll have to stick with the subjects until they're comfortable in each practice. No witchcraft can be mastered, Magic is too vast and ever changing, but they'll have to be at least confident in what Magics they focus on.

Another year passes them by, and the girls are now learning about creating spells, all about how the intent, the wording and sometimes gestures that help and how something as simple as a language change can change the whole structure of the spell.

Bonnie and Nova have been slowly and painfully learning languages since they asked to be taught Magic. Latin is, of course, is the most popular language that every Witch needs to learn; but then there are runes, it's not a language, but more of Runic alphabets that some Witches use to power certain objects or certain spells.

There are other languages, of course, but those are the ones they need to learn to survive as not only a Witch, but a Bennett Witch. Mostly because Bennetts are notorious for being powerful and so they often get involved in other Supernatural Beings drama, not that witches don't have their own drama.

The twins are slowly taught Magic, along with juggling school, after school activities and a social life.

For Nova, this is the busiest she's ever been in either of her lifetimes, mainly because she's never really had a social life.

But now that she has loyal friends she'll protect them with everything she has; so when Caroline called her on her new flip phone, slightly hysterical, at 12 AM, at the age of fourteen, she somehow manages to sneak out her and Bonnie's room at Grams' house. Bonnie quickly going back to sleep after Nova told her she's got it, and she quietly tiptoed past her Grams who'd fallen asleep on the couch, with the television playing an old film.

Nova, had the foresight, haha foresight get it? Because she's a Seer, and, nevermind, anyway she had the foresight to put on her purple slippers and denim jacket hanging on the coat rack before leaving the house.

Nova is not going to lie, she's nervous, mainly because she's never snuck out the house before, ever, and she's a pretty, fourteen-year-old girl alone walking the streets at night in a town that's soon going to be the new Hellmouth, the only that keeps her focused and calm is the fact that she's going to have to get used to dangerous situations, the sound of Caroline crying through the phone; and the fact she feels her Magic ready to be called on at any moment.

Nova arrives at the Forbes residence in a normally twenty-minute walk but was shortened to a ten-minute sprint. She huffs on the front step for a little while, before looking at the house that has all of its lights on. Her eyes flicker back and forth to the door and to the window that she knows is to Caroline's room.

Nova shrugs, she knows she'll be in trouble for sneaking out the house, she might as well go out in style.

She quickly runs to the window and picking up small pebbles from the ground she throws one, and then two, and then another at the window before she hears Caroline's sniffling stop, and she shuts the phone closed when she hears Caroline cautiously go to the window. Nova hands can only reach to Caroline's window sill so she waves them through the closed window, "Hurry let me in Care." Nova says whispering, causing Caroline to drop the lamp she had in her hand.

"Nova, is that you?" Caroline questions, her blonde head sticking out of the window, hiccuping.

"Yes, it's me, let me in." Nova confirms whispering loudly, looking over her shoulder for anyone who wants to kill her.

Caroline opens the window and steps back as Nova grabs the window sill lifting herself up and into the room, tripping on clothes and makeup along the way.

"That always looks cooler in movies." Nova says sheepishly, rubbing her neck.

"Nova what are you doing here, and why didn't you go through a door like a normal person?" Caroline says confused, her face red and tears still falling.

"You called, crying, at twelve in the morning, where else would I be," Nova says genuinely confused, before continuing dismissively,"And normal is overrated anyway."

That causes Caroline to cry even more, which makes Nova panic thinking she said something wrong. "What's wrong, what did I do, or was it someone else, was it a boy, do I need to hurt someone?" Nova says in a panic, that causes Caroline to laugh.

"There's no boy, that's not why I'm crying," Caroline says, wiping her tears for what feels like the thousandth time.

Nova hesitates before she asks,"Then why are you crying." Caroline sat on the rainbow covered bed and with a tired huff and Nova sits next to her while she explains. "My dad is gay," Caroline says bluntly.

Nova's eyes widen and her mouth formed a silent 'oh' but doesn't say anything until Caroline finishes.

"My parents have been fighting lately," Caroline confesses, "I thought they were just going through what Cosmopolitan calls a 'rough patch' but it turns out he'd been having an affair, with another man, and was trying to file for a divorce," Caroline says, with a wounded look on her face she drops her head on Nova's shoulder.

"He left mom, he left me, with his boyfriend driving the car, tonight."

Oh.

Wow, she knew it was going to happen, she just never knew this was how Bill Forbes decided to come out to his family, it's a real shit way to come out. It'd always be a shit situation to come out to your daughter and wife, she has no objection to being gay, hell she's bi-sexual and proud of it, but to parade around the person you had an affair with around your teenage daughter and ex-wife is just fucked up.

She says as much to Caroline, causing her to smile a little before she starts crying again.

Nova holds her while the blonde cries into her shoulder she wonders if Caroline had to deal with this alone in the show, but quickly pushes it out of her head because one of her best friends needs her right now and she can think about that later.

Nova pulls Caroline closer and tries to think of anything to say to make it better but doubts anything can make this better, instead she does what she liked to do in her old life with her friend, and shares her pain.

"Hey, Care, wanna know something?" Nova says whispering.

"What?" Caroline asks voice hoarse from crying.

"I haven't seen my dad for longer than one hour a week since Bonnie and I turned ten." They moment it became obvious the girls were learning witchcraft from their Grams was the moment he started to distance himself even more than he already had.

Caroline looks at her in shock,"What!" Caroline exclaims, making Nova hush her.

"Why not?" Caroline asked in a lower voice.

"He says he's busy with work, but I think it mostly has to do with the fact the older Bonnie and I get, the more we look like our mother." Nova says, lays back on the bed looking at the ceiling.

"You guys never really talk about your mom, or your dad, mostly just about your Grams." Caroline said, her voice questioning, laying back next to her clutching a pillow.

"Because Grams is the one that's actually been there for us, mom left us and practically took our dad with her for all the little time he spends with us."Nova said this a little too callously because Caroline looks over at her in worry, but she just smiles at her.

"I'm not sad about it, just angry and disappointed really, but not sad." Nova says and continues when it looks like the blonde doesn't believe her. "I don't know them, not really, I've seen pictures of who they were before mom decided to skip town, but I don't know them enough for it to make me sad."

Caroline looks like she believes her so Nova nudges her with an elbow eyes lighting up as a new insane thought pops in her head.

"Hey, does this mean you'll get rid of me and find a new shopping partner in your newly out of the closet dad?" Nova says, pretending to pout with laughter in her eyes.

Normal people would take extreme offense to that sentence, thankfully, all of her friends are crazy and so it only makes Caroline giggle throwing the pillow she had been clutching at her friends face.

Caroline laughter made her mother check on her daughter. And as a knock was heard from the other side of the door before opening without waiting for a response. Before the door opens Nova see's her life flash before her eyes, okay, maybe that's a slight exaggeration. But she does panic for a full second when the door opens before she just decides to accept her fate and decided to relax, sadly Caroline didn't have the same acceptance as her; Nova thinks wryly as she is rudely pushed off the side of Caroline's bed and onto the floor with a loud thump as her face hits the floor.

Liz looks around in confusion at the noise before her eyes settle on her daughter slightly red and blotched face, causing her eyes to soften.

Caroline's plan to hide her might have worked if Liz hadn't decided to try to come inside the room.

"Are you okay Caroline, I thought I heard something." Liz questions.

"I'm fine." Caroline snaps at her mother nervously, trying to block her mother from entering. Liz just sighs at her daughter's tone, too used to it to try to do anything about it.

"Okay, just checking." Liza says about to turn and leave but stops to say what she had come to do,"Oh and Nova?" Liz says in a knowing voice, causing Caroline's eyes to widen in shock. "Yes, Sheriff Forbes?" Nova says voice muffled from the wood floor her face still lays on.

"Your Grams called said if you try to sneak out this late again she'll revoke certain privileges, I'll be taking you back home later in the morning." Liz says with a frown,"I hope you don't plan on doing this ever again Nova Amelia Bennett."

"Of course not, thank you, Sheriff Forbes." Nova says slightly lying cause she might have to sneak out again, but the lie is believable apparently because Liz just nods at her daughter before awkwardly leaving with a soft,"Good Night Girls."

"Good Night." The girls echo, Caroline still stunned and Nova's face still squashed on the floor.

There's a moment of silence before it's broken by Nova hitting her head on the carpeted floor. "I'm going to be in so much trouble when I get home," Nova says, before getting up off the floor with Caroline's help.

"Thanks for throwing me on the floor, by the way, it totally worked." Nova's sarcasm could be heard from the next town.

Caroline smiles sheepishly," Sorry, I just panicked and I never asked you to walk to my house at twelve in the morning."

Nova kicks her slippers off, tosses her blue jean jacket on Caroline's desk chair, and slips under the covers without asking, the girls have had so many sleepovers that everyone's house feels like, a second, and technically third home. "I don't regret coming over, Care, I might regret it when my Grams guilt trips me in the morning, but for now, I don't regret it." Nova corrects herself, while Caroline turns off her light and joins her under the to her, really fucking bright, rainbow covers.

"Thanks, Nova." Caroline says, whispering in the dark.

"You're welcome, you totally owe me though, I thought I was going to get kidnapped." Nova says, back in an equally quiet voice.

Caroline laughs, thinking she's joking, but Nova is being completely serious, but she'll let her blonde friend think whatever she wants until she calls on that favor.

"Goodnight, Nova." Caroline says a grin in her voice. "Goodnight, Caroline." Nova replied before she fell asleep.

From then on Caroline and her are closer; and her Grams totally chewed her out for a whole hour once she got home, she had to then write a five-page report on the Magical uses of animal organs.

Nova almost became a vegetarian after that.

Almost.

It's a cold November on a Friday night the time is currently 9 PM, the girls are having their annual weekend pajama party, they're at the twins house this time, the twins dad gone for a business trip and their Grams had finally trusted them enough to go back to work.

The twins 'moved' back into the house that they never really had stayed longer than the few days out of a week their dad stayed at home, with their dad's permission they redecorated their separate rooms. Right now they're all piled in Nova's room with its dark wood floor, lying down on the floor different rugs piled on the floor underneath them.

Nova finished painting the room last week, the ceiling galaxy painted, the rest is a forest with starry skies a giant full moon painted in the middle of the room above her wooden headboard, a black and white bedspread with a shit ton of decorative pillows on the queen size bed. She painted animals and mythical creatures in the forest that represent her and her friends.

Twin black cats, one with brown and the other with green eyes, to represent Nova and Bonnie. A giant unicorn for Elena and for Jeremy a chestnut horse. Butterfly's with a kaleidoscope of colors on their wings for Caroline. Tyler's a giant wolf with its head tilted back howling at the moon, and Matt is a lion with blue eyes; of course, only she knows who the animals represent, it'd be hard to explain why she picked the animals, so it's her little inside joke.

Nova bribed Tyler and Matt with pot brownies to help her push two tall bookshelves to the only wall left unpainted, its shelves full of books reaching the ceiling. Next to the bookshelves, in the corner are movie posters that she pushed her antique wooden desk under, she found it in the attic and stole it, pairing it with a cheap black leather swivel chair. She kept her big old oak wood vanity mirror set and left it next to her bed, it has a shit ton of stuff on it, from makeup, different makeup removers, too many nail polishes to count, nail polish removers, a giant wooden jewelry box Bonnie got her for her fifteenth birthday, pictures stuck in the corners of the mirror, TV merchandise like a mini Tardis, a Supernatural anti-demon possession sticker on the mirror, and Buffy's stake 'Mr. Pointy' that won't do shit against an actual vampire but made her laugh.

Her closet is small so she has a tiny wooden wardrobe, but a lot of the clothes still spill out of the wardrobe and onto the floor.

She started painting and drawing at thirteen, she had drawn in her old life but never could afford to paint too often, now it was the only thing besides writing in her Journal that kept her sane, so she has an easel and her paints on the other side of her bed next to the door and beside the only window in the room, her canvases are always in the attic drying.

It took Nova and Bonnie two whole months to finish both of their rooms.

Completely worth it, bitches.

They're all wearing t-shirts Nova had gotten them as joint gifts this year.

Nova's ironically a supernova pattern with the words 'Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore. ' printed on the back.

Bonnie's a deep green that matches her eye color with the words 'Elementary, my dear Watson.'

Elena's a deep red with the words 'Oh, no It wasn't the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast'

And Caroline's a powder blue with the words 'I'm sorry people are so jealous of me. But I can't help it that I'm popular.'

Nova picked movie quotes because she accidentally got the girls addicted to television and movies. T-shirts because she had been walking around Mystic Falls when she found a small t-shirt shop, it was slightly out of place next to all the older stores, having just been built this year, but she had walked in and ordered the shirts made for her best friends and walked out feeling poor, but accomplished.

Caroline's radio she brought over is on, and Rihanna is playing,

'Don't tell me you're sorry 'cause you're not

Baby when I know you're only sorry you got caught

But you put on quite a show

Really had me going

But now it's time to go

Curtain's finally closing

That was quite a show

Very entertaining

But it's over now (but it's over now)

Go on and take a bow'

Nova was having such a fun time singing along softly to the music, mint facial masque on, rollers in her dark brunette hair with new blonde highlights, she'd never had a pajama party before in her old life and now she's having one every week, she loves it. Nova's painting Elena's toes a red wine, her own toenails already painted a glittery black, laying on her stomach out on top of her zebra print rug; she was in such a peaceful state, the calm before the storm her mind supplies rather unhelpfully, that she almost didn't hear what Caroline said but sadly whenever Caroline says something you have to pay attention or you'll have her ire to deal with.

"So has anyone else noticed how hot Tyler and Matt have gotten?" Caroline questioned her own mint masque on her face and her eyes full of mischief.

Nova pauses at the question because, to be honest, she hasn't noticed, mainly because she grew up with Matt and Tyler and only see's them as her childhood friends. "Not really, I mean Tyler's kind turning into a bit of a dick nowadays and Matt's not really my type, but Tyler does have nice arms and Matt has really pretty eyes." Nova voices her thoughts out loud, causing Bonnie to nod her head humming in agreement but mostly out of the conversation, magazine covering her face.

Nova can see Elena blushing beneath her clear peel off facial masque at the mention of Matt and she suddenly remembers that Elena and Matt dated for a while in the show, she doesn't remember much about that relationship, she does remember they dated and that Elena dumped him after the car crash; Nova had wanted to change Elena's adoptive parents fate, because even if Mr. Gilbert plays an even more fucked up version of Frankenstein in his spare time, his wife doesn't deserve to die.

Mrs. Gilbert who's sweet, funny, maternal, and who gives her and Bonnie's homemade chocolate chip cookies whenever they sleepover, just the thought of her dying when she could have done something about it, makes her feel sick, it's something that keeps her up at night the closer the night becomes; but also Elena and Jeremy don't deserve to lose their parents so young, causing Jenna to become their sole parental figure right after losing her sister.

But Nova can't mess with too much.

The information she has can not just get her, her friends and her family killed; but maybe even fuck up this entire universe and Elena's parent's death had too much impact on Elena's life.

Maybe if Nova and her friends had been born normal the damage would be less disastrous, but we're talking about a traveler/doppelganger whose face has probably been around for over two millenniums, two powerful Bennett Witches and a soon to be a badass vampire with incredible control for a new vampire.

Nova also knows in her very being if she changes too much or does the wrong thing, it'll cost her something steep and her price will be her being at Natures mercy, she doesn't know how she knows that only that she does.

Pulling herself back in the present she smirks at Elena while finishing painting the other brunette's toes.

"Oh why, Ms. Gilbert, are you blushing!?" Nova teases with a southern drawl, her smirk practically devious.

Bonnie finally pulls the from the magazine from her face, revealing her mud masque, while Caroline finished her toenails painted a mint green. "You're right, her face is definitely sporting a flush, Nova." Bonnie joins in the teasing, while Caroline squeals clapping in glee.

"I knew it, it's Matt isn't it?!" Caroline says knowingly, grinning like the Cheshire cat, causing Elena's tan skin which Nova didn't even know could flush, get even redder in its hue. "He might have kissed me that time we all snuck into that senior party." Elena says, smiling impishly.

Nova and Bonnie laugh when Caroline hits Elena with a decorative pillow, "That was two months ago Elena, why didn't you tell us!?" Caroline says, slightly pouting.

"Because you're horrible with secrets Care, and I didn't want to just tell the twins first and not you, I wanted to tell all of you when I was ready to tell Mystic Falls I'm dating Matt Donovan." Elena says, keeping her arms raised in case Caroline decides to attack again, looking slightly apologetic at Caroline.

"What are you talking I can totally keep a secret." Caroline says dropping the pillow in disbelief.

The girls all turn as one to look at Caroline, in disbelief themselves.

"Okay, maybe I shouldn't have said to Katie that her crush, Peter, thought she smelt like his dogs, or told Mary that her boyfriend, now ex-boyfriend, thinks Mary turned him gay," Caroline says thoughtfully, only to pause when she's finished. "Yeah, I suck at keeping secrets." Caroline realizes, not looking very guilty causing the rest of us to break into peals of laughter that Caroline soon joins.

Nova nudges Elena with her foot after they've all calmed down, "So if you're telling us now does that mean it's official, is Elena 'doe-eyed' Gilbert dating Matty 'blue eyes' Donovan." Nova teases, her brown eyes filled with laughter.

"Doe-eyed, where do you come up with this stuff Nova?" Elena asks, with an amused grin, Nova just grins back saying nothing.

"No, no, stop avoiding the question, are you dating Matt?" Caroline says, with Bonnie leaning in just as in eagerly.

"As of yesterday, yes, we're official." Elena announces to the room that's soon filled with squeals from all sides.

"This calls for a celebration and I have just the thing for it," Caroline announces, getting up from the soft gray rug to walk over to her duffle bag while the girls look on curiously. When Caroline just grabs a makeup bag, they get confused, until she pulls out the bottle of Vodka and then they all grin at each other.

"Vodka anybody?" Caroline asks, smiling at them when they all raise their mugs that had been filled previously with tea.

Alcohol is sadly easy to get in Mystic Falls, especially with Tyler as a childhood friend, he regularly supplies them with alcohol raided from his dad's cellar.

All the good teen parties are mostly planned by Caroline with Tyler supplying the food and alcohol. It's odd, being a party girl when she was a full-time nerd back in her old life and had never been to a teen party, not for lack of an invite but of more lack of interest, now she has a party girl reputation; when she gets drunk her filter gets thrown away and so do her already few inhibitions, like that time she skinny dipped in The Lockwood's fountain on a dare, in mid-October, also known as her biggest drunken mistake so far.

She would have just gone back to her anti-social ways if it wasn't for the girls, they keep her from feeling her mental age.

There's not much else to do in Mystic Falls but party like an idiot; there's ton of events to keep everyone busy year around like the monthly outdoor movie showings, or the ridiculous amount of balls mostly thrown by Mrs. Lockwood in an attempt to show the town how rich and 'perfect' her family are, carnivals at least once a year each summer, teen parties are thrown every weekend that even the parents know about but they're practically a Mystic Falls tradition itself then there's the actual town tradition of Founder Events which is really just something to make the rich and 'important' families feel, well, rich and important. The Bennett Family deserve to be there just as much as the rest of them, maybe even more, but what can you except when they've all been getting a millennium of history wrong.

Nova isn't sure when she became the 'popular' girl but apparently she's is, she blames being best friends with Caroline Forbes for the change, with her pushing them all to join cheerleading together, also maybe cause she's trying to not waste this new life so she tries with all her power to shove her anti-social tendencies down the toilet.

While her old self wouldn't have normally done these things like cheerleading, drinking at parties, making out with random guys and girls in the back of cars, losing her virginity in the back of a car, or even just being in Art club with Jeremy; she can admit the reason that she never did it was because the person she had been always played by the rules of other people, always hesitant to do things for herself, such a people pleaser she had always tried to be.

Now she's a different person. She's Nova Amelia Bennett; twin of Bonnie Bennett and best friends with Caroline Forbes and Elena Gilbert. She's loyal, funny, sarcastic, free spirited, artistic, and a little bit of a bitch; and the only person she has to listen to is Nature herself.

Sometimes her anti-social habits will come back with a vengeance, mainly when she reminisces about her old life, when that happens she'll lock herself away in her room with her curtains drawn the candles lit, and she'll look at the drawing she drew of her past life's family, sad music playing; it's probably a real pathetic sight and only her best friends can push her out of the funk, but at least she finally found a spell that makes the journal only open to her magic.

The girls eventually get tipsy and dance around the room for a while until they eventually wind down and finally start to take off their facials. Nova currently has Elena's phone in hand as soon as Bonnie and Elena left the room to clean off their facials first, "What are you doing?" Caroline whispered, her voice slightly slurring.

"I'm sexting Matt, as Elena." Nova said it as though it should be obvious, she's not as tipsy as her friend.

"Why would you do that?" Caroline looked adorably confused.

"Because I'm one of her best friends and it's my duty to embarrass her." Nova said, still texting.

Twenty minutes later, the other girls come back in the room to see Caroline giggling while looking over the shorter girl's shoulder.

"What are you two doing?" Bonnie questioned with an amused smile and tilt of her head, her face fresh but her eyes slightly glazed over from the alcohol.

"Is that my phone?" Elena questioned, before snatching the phone from a smiling Nova. "Oh my god, did you..you texted, Matt? As me?" Elena exclaims, hurriedly going through the texts as Bonnie comes to look over her shoulder.

'I'm so hot 4 U'- Elena

'We should have lots of sex' -Elena

'I thought you wanted to wait.'-Matt

'Talk dirty to me.' - Elena

'What do you want me to say?'-Matt

'Whateva you want, babe, xoxoxo.'-Elena

'Are you drunk?'- Matt

'Only on U bby' - Elena

"Technically, I sexted him, as you." Nova says as she slowly stumbled away from a red-faced Elena, she's not sure if it's from anger or embarrassment.

"Run." Elena advises, and Nova takes the great advice.

She runs out of the room passing an amused Caroline and Bonnie, while Elena follows her with much longer legs. Nova makes it down the stairs only to squeal when she gets tackled by Elena's limbs in the living room. "Why. would. you. do. that?" Elena hits her best friend with the couch pillow with each word.

They could hear the footsteps of their other best friends running down the staircase, "Because I was bored, and at least now you know Matt is shit at dirty talk?" Nova questioned with a smile, she honestly did it for shits and giggles. "Any last words?" Elena questioned her eyes amused but her face deadly serious, "I regret nothing." Nova states, her eyes also smiling.

Elena sighs exasperatedly at her friend, before falling next to Nova, the other girls came into the living room, looking down at them with amused grins.

"Are you two done now?" Bonnie asked the girls on the carpeted floor, the girls in question look at each other before looking back to Bonnie, before nodding, hesitatingly on Elena's part.

They all crowd on the couch before turning on the TV, the latest Supernatural season is re-playing, they had started watching the series online at first but there almost caught up with the current season.

They're taking shots every time someone dies.

Caroline is a part of Dean girls and Bonnie is a part of Sam girls while Elena and Nova love both and don't dare get in between the debates the other two girls have about the main characters, but it made Nova giggle at the ironic part of Elena loving both brothers, causing the girls to look at her funny before shrugging it off as Nova just being Nova; while she doesn't like her friends fighting the 'debates' are hilarious.

"But Dean like literally died for his brother, how can you not like him?!" Caroline yelled, drunk and outraged.

"It's not that I don't like him, I just relate to Sam better!" Bonnie says, equally drunk and outraged; the other two girls keep out of it, their eyes flickering back and forward, eating popcorn they originally popped for the Supernatural marathon, but it's currently paused, as they're enjoying the show their best friends are putting on for them.

"How in the world is Sam relatable, not that I don't love him, but he's far from 'relatable'!" Caroline says, with air quotes rolling her eyes at Bonnie.

"He just is!" Bonnie says not elaborating on it, her twin sister understands what she's trying to say though.

Bonnie may have accepted that she's a Witch and she does love being a Witch, but it doesn't mean she doesn't sometimes want a normal life. Nova herself doesn't understand why her twin wants to be whatever the hell 'normal' means because her life is far from 'normal' having died and coming back as a baby is not 'normal' in any way, and if she's being honest she likes this life better, she finally got to live instead of just being alive, so 'normal' can go fuck itself.

"I've created monsters." Nova slurs quietly, throwing popcorn in her mouth but missing her mouth completely, causing Elena to try to muffle her drunk giggles in Nova's shoulder. "You love it." Elena accused, also slurring, just as quietly, them still watching the girls yell at each other.

"Yup." Nova nods popping the 'p' grinning, only to pout when it makes her dizzy.

The girls soon stop arguing and settle the 'debate' with a simple agreement that the Winchesters are both hot and BAMF and they all soon go back to watching and Nova does not spoil anything for them because spoilers are the spawn of Lucifer; it's 2 AM when they finally finish. "That's it?" Elena questions disbelievingly, even drunker than before.

Nova checks on her laptop, that was on the coffee table, before nodding sadly, she hadn't finished the show in her old life and she wants more damn.

"They can't just leave us like that!" Caroline says, slightly buzzed.

"When does it come back?" Bonnie asks her sister, before changing her mind and snatching the laptop from Nova to check herself, "Not till...January the fifteenth, next year." Bonnie confirms sadly, her head lolling on Nova's shoulder. Yeah, she might have got them addicted.

That feeling she has right now, yeah, it's called pride.

They pick up the now empty vodka bottle and throw it into the trash, piling up their other garbage on top to hide it, the popcorn bags, candy wrappers, and empty water bottles. Before making it up the stairs to Nova's room. The lights go off and the girls all pile on the bed, really drunk, and really fucking sleepy.

The next day is full of water bottles, pain pills, and greasy foods.

Hangovers are not fun, and the twins Grams still hasn't given them her secret remedy for hangovers that Nova knows she has.


	3. Let the Games Begin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stupid Salvatore Genes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to update this yesterday, but it's harder to update on this website than it is on fanfiction because copy n paste is a bitch. I thought I'd be on episode seven by now but dudes I'm still on episode 3. The plot will take longer to get to because I feel hesitant to put out longer chapters, because one, it's a chore and a half to edit my shit grammar even with an application helping me, and two, because I don't want to upload everything that I have written and then be like "Oh well I have no more Muse for this story so I'm taking a break and never update because I ran out of chapters." So I'm just going to keep writing ahead and updating once a week or so and hope my hand won't fall off. I haven't checked this chapter for anything but grammar mistakes so please let me know if somethings out of order or if there's an unfinished word and I'll fix it!

When Elena admitted to the girls that Matt and her's relationship was slowly but surely fizzling out from the lack of passion, Nova knew that the next party could be the party where Elena bails on family night, only for Mr & Mrs. Gilbert to pick her up, their car to going off the Wickery Bridge.

And with their death comes the Salvatore brothers.

She was upset and feeling guilty even though she can't do anything about their deaths, just knowing when someone is going to die can fuck with minds; so Nova did what Nova did best when she's upset, she ignored the world around her with parties, alcohol, sex, and when that didn't work she painted her soul out onto a canvas, her room currently filled with canvases, the attic now too full.

The month of May is when it happens; it's 1 AM and the bonfire party is still growing strong, there's music coming from the outdoor speakers, and everyone is more than a little drunk.

Nova is currently dirty dancing in between two classmates, Penny and James, at least she thinks that's their names, all she knows for certain is that they're both great kissers, she hums to the music, dragging her hands slightly under the other girl's shirt.

Someone tapped on her shoulder, she turned her head slightly annoyed, that's leaning on James or was it, Jake, she's actually not sure if he actually gave her a name.

Nova smiles drunkenly when she saw Elena standing there with an amused look in her eyes. Elena, her best friend, her brother from another mother; only with boobs.

"Hey, I'm going to go, I called someone to pick me up," Elena says with a raised voice, with an apologetic frown.

Elena's reasoning for leaving makes Nova's grin disappear and her body chilled to the bone even though just a second ago she was warm and drunk, it practically sobers her. She pushes Penny away slightly, not saying anything to them, she leads Elena away from the dancing crowd and towards the big bonfire.

"Are you okay?" Nova asks in concern, slightly raising her voice to be heard over the music, nervously looking around for blue eyes and a leather jacket, she knows he's here, but she can't see the where part.

Elena smiles at her concern but waves her off, "Yeah I'm fine, just Matt, he started talking about marriage, and kids, I'm not ready for that, not with him. I just wanted to say goodnight, so you wouldn't worry." Elena teases her friend.

Nova is possessive of her precious people, and it shows in how she protects them; like the one time Bonnie got dumped by her first boyfriend, via text; Nova just might have talked the girls into egging the stupid bastards house.

They even filmed it and posted it on Youtube, anonymously, of course, it went viral within weeks.

"Okay well text me when you get home." She fakes a smile for Elena and gives her a hug, the skin contact makes Nova's eyes to glaze over as she has Visions of the crash, but it only makes her hold on tighter to the teen. Nova sighs at the images that are bombarding her, the car swerving off the bridge, Stefan Salvatore swimming towards the car, Mrs. and Mr. Gilbert's death, and all the while she ignores them trying to stay grounded, holding on tighter.

"Nova?" Elena says, her voice strained.

"Yeah?" Nova says, absently, still holding on tight.

"Can't. Breathe." Elena replied, with a grunt, exhaling when Nova finally let's go, "Are you okay?" Elena echoes back worriedly, seeing through the fake smile.

"I'm just drunk." Nova says waving away the concern, which is the truth but not what Elena was asking. "You didn't answer my question, Nova." Elena says, her eyes worried, Nova tends to worry about everyone else but herself.

"No, I'm not, but I will be." She reassures Elena, but it's more for herself.

Elena looks like she wants answers, all of the girls are really nosy and prone to pry, it's a shared trait, but shockingly Elena chose not to pry and just gives her another hug, gentler this time.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Elena questions, as she lets go.

Nova just nods not trusting herself to speak without blurting out anything and with a gentle squeeze Elena leaves.

Now alone next to the giant fire she stares at the Element that killed her, before snorting at the irony of dying by fire; only to be reincarnated as a Witch.

From the corner of her eye she spots a cat running towards the forest; slightly curious, she follows as though in a trance causing her to miss the sight of a handsome raven haired male leaving the party to go lay on an empty road, waiting for dessert, only to end up seeing the woman he loves face on another girl.

Nova is now far away from the party in the woods, she knows these woods from having to practice spells here, but she still ends up tripping slightly in the dark, and currently feels like a fucking idiot, following a stupid fucking cat into the stupid woods.

When the black cat finally stops running, it turned to look at her before sitting casually.

She gasped; it was the eyes, eerily glowing in the dark, the same green eyes she died looking into.

She dropped down slowly onto the dirt ground and ignoring the pebbles digging into her bare knees, she never takes her eyes off the black cat and he doesn't take its eyes off of her as she holds out her hand.

The feline slowly walks over until his fur brushes her fingertips, her fingers automatically curling in his fur just the way he likes it.

She breathes in and out deeply as Magic surrounded them, practically suffocating her; she just sits their fingers in the black cat's fur until it gradually recedes and she can easier breathe again.

"Merlin." Nova breathes out in wonder, the cat just purred.

"How did you get here?" Nova questions picking up the cat to look in its eyes, she's still drunk and really doesn't suspect he'll answer, but you never know what you're going to get with Magic, but the cat just meows, causing her to slump in disappointment.

Well, no talking felines, guess she won't be pulling a Sabrina the Teenage Witch anytime soon, she'll have to get her answers elsewhere, for now, she just grabs Merlin and settled on the ground more comfortably.

"I don't know what the hell I'm doing here, I thought it'd be easier, me knowing things," She tugs the feline closer, sighing into the night, "I love it here, but I have a feeling my knowledge is just going to bite me in my ass instead of helping me."

Nova doesn't say anything more on the subject; never know when someone is listening on the Other Side. She just sits there, no tears, just blank faced and eyes distant, she's not sure how long she sat there, before without a word more she stood with Merlin in her arms, and walks slowly towards the party, one step closer to death, her constant shadow.

The party was over apparently because everyone was leaving.

"Hey, have you seen Elena?" Bonnie walks up and asks as soon as she sees her sister, worried expression in place, wanting to ask about the feline in her sister's arms but more worried about her friend.

Nova clutches Merlin tighter and nods her head, "Yeah, she called someone to come pick her up a while ago." Nova replies, her response makes Bonnie panic and clutch her twins shoulders in alarm.

"She can't be, please tell me she hasn't left." Bonnie practically begs her sister. "She did, what's going on, Bonnie?" Nova asks blandly because she already knows what happened.

"A car went off the Wickery Bridge, they said only one person made it out." Bonnie replied, biting back a sob, tears in her green eyes, the tears cause Nova to grab hold of Bonnie, pulling her close, her sister cries into her shoulder, Merlin unhappily squished in the middle.

Nova's eyes are filled with sadness and guilt as she hugs Bonnie.

'Never trust a hug, it's just a way to hide your face.' Nova internally quotes.

 

* * *

 

 

A week later the three girls are dressed in all black; while they all crowd under a giant black umbrella, the rain pouring down violently. Elena and Jeremy are ahead of them, in front of them are two fresh headstones, most had already left, the service had been over a while ago, the girls had stayed, to make sure the Gilbert siblings got home okay. Nova looks up at the stormy sky, "It's like the sky is crying with them." She mumbles softly, the girls simply nod, not saying anything.

After a while they see Jeremy walk away from the fresh graves towards the woods; leaving Elena alone standing alone under the umbrella, his sad drowned puppy look kicking her in the face.

Nova thought it over for a split second before handing the umbrella off to Caroline, before running towards the direction Jeremy went.

"Where are you going!?" Caroline yells over the noise of the rain, slightly confused, her twin, however, doesn't question her and has a knowing look in her eyes.

She loves Elena and she'll be there for the mourning teen when she's needed, but Elena has three best friends that love her and are there for her. Jeremy, however, has shit taste in 'friends' and while they gave sympathies, they'll never really try to be there for him like an actual friend would.

Nova's known Jeremy since he was in diapers, she knows he's going to go emo-drug dealer on them, no matter what she says to him now. Everyone has their way of mourning, hers is ignoring the pain until it either goes away or comes back with a vengeance; but emo-drug dealer or not he's one of her precious people, it's becoming a very long list nowadays.

"I'm going to look after the emo kid!" Nova yells back half jokingly, but mostly serious.

Caroline nods understandingly before her and Bonnie walk towards Elena who hadn't even known they were still there.

Nova walks in the rain, shivering as she gets pelted with raindrops, she's started to regret wearing heels, no matter how short of the heel it is, wearing any type of heel while walking in mud is just asking for a sprained ankle; so she slips them off, tracking Jeremy's foot prints into the woods. She's currently feeling like a drowned cat, walking in this rain, she prefers looking at the rain from her window, thank you very much.

When she finds him, after a couple wrong turns and following foot prints that were actually deer prints, she finds him sitting on a fallen tree, sobbing. Nova kind of just stares at him and silently wondered what the hell she was thinking, they haven't even been that close since he started hanging out with those boys he used to call 'friends' and thought him hanging out with a chick was 'totally lame bro', like she has fucking coodies, she's about to turn back only to step on a twig.

"Fucking shit!" Nova curses, hopping in one place with a giant ass splinter in her foot, making Jeremy turn towards her, his eyes showing his confusion when he see's her there.

"Nova, what the hell are you doing out here?" Jeremy asks, helping her hop over to the log he had been sitting on.

"Oh, you know just out for a stroll." Nova tries nonchalantly, only to yelp in pain when Jeremy starts removing the splinters.

"Barefoot, in the woods, while it's raining?" Jeremy questions skeptically, removing the splinters from her foot. "Okay so maybe the barefoot part was a bad idea-" She stops rambling when Jeremy just looks at her, "I was following you." She says, rather unapologetic that she got caught.

"Why?" Jeremy asks letting go of her foot, his tone biting, "I thought you'd be with Elena right now." Okay, she totally deserved that, maybe he's feeling neglected from the awesomeness that is Nova, she thinks to herself; it's completely normal.

"Elena's with Bonnie and Caroline right now," Nova pulls her feet in Jeremy's lap ignoring his glare, puppies have a better glare than him,"you, however, wanted to walk alone in the woods at night, that right there's a beginning of a cliche horror movie." Nova says pointing a finger at Jeremy, mockingly glaring at him.

She's totally being a hypocrite right now, but aren't we all.

Jeremy smiled slightly but it was halfhearted at best, pathetic at worst.

Nova doesn't say anything, she knows there's nothing she could say, she's not going to say 'sorry for your loss' or ask him if he's 'okay'. Jeremy already knows she's sorry for his loss without the worn out words that he gets on a regular basis and will be getting for months maybe even years after, and no he isn't okay, none of them are. Grayson and Miranda Gilbert had been big figures in their small town and the lost of them is felt; the family they left behind felt it most of all.

"I couldn't believe they were gone at first, when they told us they were dead," Jeremy says after awhile of just staring at the sky, the moon now peeking through the clouds, the rain having come to a light drizzle, "I don't think it had sunk in until they never came home, I keep expecting them to walk through the door, alive, but they haven't." She stays silent as he talks, she wonders when was the last time someone listened to him; his friends are shit, Jenna and Elena love him but they're mourning as much he is and won't be much help.

When his voice starts cracking from how long he's been talking, she pulled her ruined heels back on, before hauling his form up from the log towards the cemetery, where her new car is currently parked.

He doesn't resist but he also drags his feet, making it harder for her to get him to her car, in the dark, with only the light from her phone guiding her. She eventually manages to guide him, the difference in height didn't help though, he's shooting up in the height department, already taller than her, which isn't much of an achievement.

She popped her trunk before they got in, handing the practically drowned teenager two towels one to dry with and the other to put under him before he gets in the car, she wrapped one around her head and another one went on the drivers seat because she loves her car and in no way are they going to ruin it with water damage.

The drive to the Gilbert Residence was silent but not an uncomfortable one, she was mildly surprised when he broke it.

"Will it get better?" Jeremy questions, making her eyes flicker towards him before going back to the road.

"Why are you asking me?" Nova asks, curiously.

"You give great advice, even when we were kids, and you and Bonnie never talk about your mom so I assumed.." Jeremy trails off, his eyes taking in the houses speeding by.

"Mommy dearest abandoned us at a young age, but..advice, I can do advice." Nova changes the subject because this isn't about her problems, this is about his grief.

She's silent for a while just thinking; about what she went through, how she lost almost everything, she had died terribly only to be reborn as a new person, in a new universe; she lost almost everything that had made her, her, new life, same soul, same memories, but she's just different than before.

She remembers grief, she never lost both of her parents to death, but she did lose a lot. "Every day is going feel like hell-" She starts bluntly, vividly remembering her old life, her grandma's death is still a scar on her soul that she doesn't think will ever heal.

"Great advice." Jeremy scoffs, "Not finished." She shot back, she isn't upset by the interruption, she expected it to be honest.

"Every day is going to feel like hell, you'll be lost and angry at the world and when you do find yourself again, you might not be who you were before. Your life will be emptier without them and no, the pain never goes away, it's just waiting to come back to make you feel miserable at impromptu moments." Nova says, making the younger boy think she's finished, when he opens his mouth, no doubt to say something pessimistic and scathing she cuts him off.

"But it's okay to feel like shit, it's okay to be angry and lost for a while and not all change is bad, in fact it's necessary, but the world moves on even when you're sad and feel like shit, so find something that makes the days less hard and less like shit." Nova finished before parking on The Gilbert's street. Jeremy looks hesitant to go inside, so she grabs his shoulder making him turn to her, his eyes pitiful. "Listen, I know we haven't exactly hung out in a while, it's mostly your fault," He rolled his eyes in typical teenage fashion,"But I'm here for you, even when you don't want me to be."

Jeremy nods but overall stays silent as he gets out of the vehicle to walk towards the front door, she wanted to talk to Elena but she doesn't think it'd be right to intrude on the mourning family, so she just waves at the Gilbert siblings that are standing in the doorway, before driving away when they go inside the now emptier home.

 

* * *

 

 

School starts tomorrow, she's currently at her Grams house, sitting on the green grass, staring at the vervain that's growing in spades. "You have something on your mind." Grams states more than questions from behind her.

Nova tilted her head back and smiled sadly at her Grams.

"Something's coming." Nova replied, turning back to the vervain.

"The Salvatores." Grams states knowingly, when she see's what her granddaughter is looking at, before sitting down next to her.

Bonnie has a way of just knowing things, she has a gift for the Divination arts as much as Nova does, her predictions coming true most of the time; Nova, however, has Visions of the past, present, and future, it's not like predicting the future, more like Seeing the future, but the future is always changing, twisting and turning.

Nothing is completely set in stone.

"And with them will come more." Nova says a far away look in her brown eyes, before looking at her Grams. "So what are you going to do about it?" Grams questions brushing her fingers through Nova's hair making her hum in content.

"I'm going to prepare." And with that Nova grabs two pieces of fresh vervain and leaves the garden with her Grams in tow.

 

* * *

 

 

 

Nova began doing what she said she'd do, preparing, there's not much she can do yet, it's all about timing. She had bought a locket for Caroline earlier that year, the twins regularly spike their friend's drinks with vervain but this is more convenient and it's more protection if the girls one day forget to give them vervain.

Nova knocks on the Forbes' front door the day before school, shifting slightly as she waited for someone to come to the door.

"What happened to the door being too normal for you?" Caroline teases as soon as the door opened. "Ha ha ha, I was going to give you something, but if you don't want it.." Nova trails off and mockingly turns on her heel like she's about to leave.

Caroline gasps and grabs her arms, yanking the girl into the house.

"Don't you dare say such things, I'll always accept free things." Caroline says, her voice outraged, they walk towards the blonde's room.

The Forbes women had moved after Liz and Bill's divorce, Bill had insisted his ex- wife keep his last name, it's probably the nicest thing the man's done for his ex-wife; last names mean everything here, because if someone has 'Founder's' last name, they have power in the town, and Liz didn't need people undermining her at her job because she got a last name change. It's some small town, sexist, chauvinistic bullshit, but people had been skeptical of letting a woman be Sheriff let alone one who was young and lost her Founding member card because her husband turned out to be gay.

She ending up keeping the last name because the name gave her power. Like Nova said, bullshit.

"So what did you get me?" Caroline turns on her as soon as their in the room.

Nova simply hands her the necklace she hadn't bothered wrapping, it's a silver heart shaped locket with a smaller heart shaped gem in the center of the heart, it won't open without her because of the spell she used to practically smelt it from the inside. It has a lot of vervain in it that she'll have to take out when Caroline turns, the blue gem will also be taken out and traded in for lapis lazuli so the blonde could keep it when she did get turned into a vampire.

Caroline turning into a vampire is something she can't change, and she's not sure she would ever want to, because no matter how much of a selfish bitch Katherine is; her turning Caroline was one of the best things that happened to the blonde. It had made her more confident, powerful and comfortable in her own skin. Caroline is in desperate need of a confidence boost. What she can change though, is the abusive relationship Caroline and Damon would have had.

He can go find someone else to make into his own personal toy, she doesn't really care, but her friends and family are off limits.

"Ooh pretty, but it's not my birthday yet, omg, is this a lesbian necklace, are you in love with me?!" Caroline questions teasingly, but the question is still in her eyes while putting on the locket.

"Nah, you're too high maintenance for me." Nova waved away the question and ignored Caroline reproachful glare. "I just saw something I thought you'd like, and bought it." Nova says while the blonde goes to her full mirror to look at the locket. Nova starts playing with Caroline's nail polishes that are on the dresser, before slyly slipping liquid vervain out of her leather jacket, and into the clear nail hardener, it's the only one her blonde friend always uses.

"Well thank you for your random act of kindness, it really is pretty... but it won't open.." Caroline trails off confused as she tries to open the locket.

"It must have a bad lock, sorry." Nova apologizes half-heartedly, ignoring the first part because she's always nice; to her friends at least, most of the time.

She just finished mixing the liquid vervain into the nail polish bottle when her friend turned back towards her. "It's fine, the fact that it's really pretty, makes up for the fact it's broken, I'll never take it off." Caroline promises with a genuine smile.

Well at least that's one thing she doesn't have to worry about, Nova thinks.

"See you tomorrow Care!" Nova yelled from her car's open window.

"Be here to pick me up at 7 AM." Caroline practically threatens but it only makes Nova shrug, "Of course." Nova promises and with a wave, she drives off.

* * *

 

Nova is supposed to be driving Caroline to school; Bonnie had already left ten minutes ago to pick up Elena.

Nova, however, is only in her push up bra, black skinny jeans, and white socks, still looking in her wardrobe for a shirt. She knows it might seem shallow to other people, but she likes looking nice for herself, it's her armor. She's about to meet her first vampires, she'll need all the armor she can get. Nova pulls out two tops, one dark blue with long sleeves and one v neck white tank, turning to the other being in the room she holds them in front of her looking at herself in her vanity mirror.

"What do you think, blue or white, conservative or sexy?" Nova turned to her cat who's lying on her bed, staring at her with lazy eyes, his flicking his tail back and forth.

"You're completely right, conservative is for funerals and pre-school teachers, Merlin, sexy it is." Nova nods acting like the cat actually responded before she threw the top on the vanity's bench and sat down next to it. Staring at the reflection she's now getting used to seeing in the mirror, she put on makeup, the black cat now circling her feet under the vanity.

After the funeral Nova had looked everywhere for a clue to what Merlin is but there's so much folklore on cats, it's hard to filter out what's real and fake, luckily when Grams saw him she knew what he was; her familiar.

Apparently, it's rare for Witches to have one nowadays but it does still happen.

Familiars are supernatural beings, as much as a Witch is, they'll appear in animal form, sometimes mythical, sometimes domestic, or even non-domestic, if they like a Witch enough they'll bond themselves to the Witch in question, but not the other way around.

The Familiar will help their bonded Witch in any way capable.

Feline familiars are known to spy on enemies, and help guide the Witch bonded to them with spells, the how is unknown to her since Merlin won't fucking communicate with her at all and just stares at her with his eerie all-knowing eyes.

But what she does know, is that they hadn't bonded until the forest, there had been Magic in the air, she had felt it in her bones and practically tasted it on her tongue.

Nova makes funny faces in the mirror while putting on gel winged eyeliner and lip balm, keeping it simple because she doesn't like makeup caked on her face. After she's finished with her makeup she slides her white tank top on.

Nova's hand dig in her jewelry box while the other one plays with Merlin's raised tail, as he circles her feet, she's glad she has Merlin in this universe now, he's one of the things keeping her from questioning her sanity. Too much anyway.

Nova chose to wear her black studded earrings, she slides the ironic black cat and the vampire teeth rings on her fingers.

Just for shits and giggles.

She took a moment to look at her cell phone, checking the time, before cursing at Caroline's _'where r u?'_ text. "Shit" Caroline will skin her alive if she's late for the first day of school because of Nova's perpetual tardiness.

Running towards her bed she pulled her black and white all-star chucks from underneath before pulling them on her sock clad feet.

"See ya later Merlin, don't do anything I won't do." Nova laughs at her pathetic joke, the feline's eyes never leaving her form, while she grabs the black shoulder tote bag from her doorknob.

She left her bedroom door open for Merlin, so he could leave if he ever got hungry, she double checks she has everything in her tote as she walks, she has her Polaroid, color pencils, mint green lead pencils with the words 'you are totally magical' engraved on them that she ordered online, school books she picked up a week ago, a composition book, her sketch pad and journal. Before grabbing her black leather jacket from the couch, rushing to her car, locking the door behind her.

She practically melts when she turns to her car.

A freshly painted red 1974 AMC Javelin AMX.

The girls both chose a car after getting their licenses, Bonnie chose a 2007 Toyota Prius. Nova, however, choose a much more expensive ride, she also had to painfully learn how to drive stick shift and it cost her three months worth of allowance; but she's been saving her money since the third grade and the classic just spoke dirty things to her when she had seen it in the seventh car dealership they had visited out of town.

She had given her father a choice, the motorcycle they saw back at home that he 'forbids' her from getting or the nice but kind of expensive classic.

He chose to spend the money, for her safety he said.

Their father actually stayed for a full month after that, she thinks it was because he didn't realize they had grown up so fast. Like weeds.

Nova honks in front of Caroline's house, after a moment Caroline comes out dressed in a white cotton mini dress with lace inserts, a pink cardigan, and sparkly gold flats, and with a pink purse in hand, the locket Nova gave her hanging from her neck. Her face, however, is stormy from how late Nova is at picking her up.

"Get in, loser!" Nova quotes from her open car window, making Caroline crack a very reluctant smile before shaking her head in amusement.

Once the blonde is buckled in Nova drives away from the house and heads in the direction of the school, Caroline turns head towards Nova wind blowing her blonde locks as she took in her friend with narrows her eyes at her friend.

"What?" Nova eyes staying on the road, focusing on the gears, but she can feel Caroline's gaze like lasers.

"Something's different about you today." Caroline is still staring.

"Yeah, I got a new vibrator, it's helping with the premature wrinkles you girls give me." Nova smiles brightly when Caroline throws her a dirty look.

"Not funny." Caroline hides her smile.

"So funny." Nova shot back without a beat, stopping at a red light.

"I don't know what it is, but I will find out." Caroline states when the light turns green, pulling her compact mirror out of her purse to reapply her lip gloss.

"Of that, I have no doubt, you always do." Nova replies; all of her friends are stubborn and really nosy, Bonnie included, she can relate to both traits, it's why they're all friends. She turns into the school's parking lot and parks next to Matt's 1981 Dodge Ram. "How do I look?" Caroline asks rhetorically, already knowing she looks great.

"Fetching." Nova smiling at her friend."How do I look." Nova echoes back, flipping her curled hair over her shoulder with an exaggerated pout.

"So fetch." Caroline replies seriously before they get out of the car with matching grins.

"Cool ride, Nova!" Jason from her art class says passing by, his fingers reaching towards her baby. "Don't fucking touch my ride, Smith." Nova's voice threatened bodily harm making his fingers freeze before his paint stained hands reached her baby.

Jason rolls his eyes and leaves with a mumbled 'crazy bitch' under his breath.

"I heard that Jason, you're more of a bitch than I am!" Nova yells at his retreating back and rolling her eyes at his raised middle finger with Caroline looking on in amusement.

"So protective of your car, you're like a female Dean Winchester, are you going to go trade your wardrobe in for a bunch of plaid shirts and jeans and go hunt ghost with Bonnie?" Caroline teasingly asked.

"Nah, I like fashion way too much, but hey, does that mean you're in love with me?" Nova asks her brown eyes filled with laughter as they walk towards the school's double doors. "No thanks, you're too high maintenance for me." Caroline echoes what Nova said yesterday, before grinning at the faux hurt look Nova threw her.

They separate from there, going to their different lockers as people walked through the double doors. She's barely been in her locker for three minutes when Matt walks towards her with Tyler trailing behind slightly hesitant to face the girl; probably because the last time they saw each other was at his last party aka the party they groped at each other drunkenly, before he vomited on her shoes.

After that, he avoided her like the plague.

She isn't angry for the groping, it had been the first party she had attended since Mr. and Mrs. Gilberts death, they had been both drunk, she had been horny, and by that point, everyone looked attractive enough to fool around with. Tyler had just been conveniently around, she was more upset about the shoes she had to throw out the next day, maybe she should start giving people a bill for every time someone ruins her shit. Nova smiles reassuringly at Tyler, her eyes telling him she's not upset, in fact, she kind of forgot about it until now; the groping, not the shoes, never the shoes.

Matt is apparently a man on a mission as he walks up to her, with no greeting, before saying, "Have you seen Elena?" Nova tries and fails not to roll her eyes.

She loves Matt, really she does, but damn did Elena make him a needy little bag of dicks. "Hi Nova, how are you, how was the rest of your summer?" Nova says to herself, putting some of the stuff that was in her tote in the open locker, she ignores Matt for the time being and continues talking to herself.

"It was fine Matt, how was the rest of your summer? You'll be going to get the stick Elena stuck up your ass surgically removed, that's so great." Nova finished causing Tyler to crack a smile not even trying to hide it from a disgruntled Matt.

"Sorry Nova, it's just-" Matt says, looking apologetic, making her finally turn her head towards him. "I know," Nova cuts him off gently, "you're worried about her, we all are, but she needed space, so we give her space." Nova answers his question, squeezing his shoulder, seeing the brunette in question walk in the school with her twin sister.

Elena waves at Matt when she see's him starting, but he ignores her and puts in his earbuds in, but no music plays. "Wow, Matt, what happened to; Have you seen Elena." Nova mimics his voice, eyeing the jock with annoyance while shutting the locker and putting the padlock on. "Yeah man, you said to me just last night, you just had to talk to her, now you're blowing her off?" Tyler questions disbelievingly.

"Don't." Matt warns, practically pouting, Tyler rolls his eyes at his best friend before leaving, probably to find a drugged up Vicki Donovan.

Nova is about to say something about how much of bipolar idiot he's being and ask him if he's sure he didn't get replaced with an alien when Elena dumped him; only to dragged away by the blur called Caroline.

Nova doesn't question it when she sees them heading towards Elena and Bonnie.

"Elena, oh my god," Caroline says, practically tackles the Gilbert in a hug letting go of Nova's arm. "How are you?," Caroline doesn't actually give the brunette a chance to answer before continuing, "Oh, it's so good to see you, sweetie," They all haven't seen the Gilberts properly since the funeral.

Which was four months ago; Calls and texts don't count, neither does that one time she had bumped into Jenna at the grocery store.

Nova smiles at her twin, side arm hugging her, as they stare at Caroline hogging Elena. "How is she, is she good?" Caroline asks Bonnie, releasing Elena.

"Caroline, I'm right here, and I'm fine, thank you." Elena said practically mimicking the voice of a broken machine.

None of the girls are buying the bullshit that Elena is selling, and it shows on all of their faces. "Really?" Caroline's disbelief is on her face. "Yes, much better." Elena replies slightly more convincingly, not.

"Oh, Elena..."Caroline says sadly, before hugging Elena again.

"Okay, Care, you can let go now." Elena says in slight amusement patting Caroline's back.

"Oh, Okay, I'll see you guys later?" Caroline says in mild disappointment that the hug ended but still pulling away.

"See you later, Care." Nova says, while Bonnie just waves while smiling in amusement when Caroline practically prances away back towards her locker.

"No comment." Elena says, closing her locker.

"I wasn't going to say anything." The twins say at the same time before smirking at each other; Elena rolls her eyes at the twins, being best friends since they've been in pigtails made her practically immune to their twin antics.

"You're not going to ask?" Elena questions after she gets her turn hugging the Gilbert, making Nova pull back slightly to look at her friend in confusion so the other girl clarifies. "If I'm okay."

Elena almost looks expectant for the slightly overused question, making Nova smile sadly. "No, I'm not, because I know you're not okay, not yet anyway, fake it till you make it right?" Nova replied before hooking both her arms into the crooks of the other girls before Elena could lie and say how much happier she is because they all know that's bullshit.

The girls walk around, chatting arm in arm, class not starting for another ten minutes. They walk over near the bathrooms, the school office doors open in front of them.

"Hold up, who's this." Bonnie asks, looking at the back of a new student; Stefan Salvatore. Cue moment of Déjà vu, Nova thinks.

"All I see is back." Elena joined staring at said back with Nova and Bonnie. "It's a hot back." Bonnie and Nova say together, not tearing their eyes away from said back.

Nova lets go of their arms to grab the Polaroid camera from her tote.

"I'm sensing Seattle, and he plays the guitar." Bonnie guesses teasingly, not trying at all. "You're really going to run this whole psychic thing into the ground, huh?" Elena asks smiling at Bonnie, making Nova stiffen for a split second before relaxing.

Grams had told Nova and Bonnie this week that she thought they were ready for the responsibility of telling people what they are, said it was time for them to start making their own choices with their Magic; the twins decided to tell Elena and Caroline. They chose to start by slowly easing them into the idea of the twins being less than normal and then tell them together, in case it goes wrong they'd be a united front.

Nova can see the subtle differences between the show and the reality that she has a feeling she changed already. Some people would be concerned with the change, she feels happy about it, because it means she can keep certain people from dying.

"Pretty much." Bonnie confirms, still staring at Stefan.

She had told Bonnie this morning that vampires were heading back to Mystic Falls, one who has ill intent and the other wished to live a normal life, Bonnie was naturally confused by the warning, but understood that her sister couldn't say anything more.

Nova knows that her sister will want to protect their friends, so does she, which is why the twins found out a way to put vervain in jewelry; and gifted them to Elena and Caroline. Elena is currently sporting a vervain leather cord charm bracelet on her left wrist.

She knows that Stefan will give Elena a certain locket, that's not changing, but a second good luck charm never hurts.

"I'll be back." Elena frowns suddenly and follows Jeremy in the men's bathroom.

Nova takes a picture of Stefan's back with a Polaroid camera, making Bonnie look at her in amusement. "Did you just?" Bonnie questions disbelieving before her eyes flickered back to Stefan.

"Yes, I believe I indeed just did." Nova says with zero shame, shaking the photo out and putting it in her journal for safe keeping.

"Please be hot." Bonnie mutters with a hopeful look on her face. Stefan turns and passes them with a small smile, that they both return happily, her camera flashes as it takes a picture of his face. She smiles at his amused face, she has zero shame, she'll treasure this photo for life.

Everyone in the halls is looking at the new guy, most of the girls staring in lust and more than a few males staring appreciatively, the rest of the school body are just nosy little fucks.

Nova wipes the slight drool from her mouth, stupid Salvatore genes.

"Come on we're going to be late for class." Bonnie says after she's pulled out what Nova is calling 'gorgeous person trance', walking towards their first class.

"Yeah, we'd really hate to miss that." Nova snarks at her sister but walks with her.


	4. Drama Queens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nova's tired of people talking about Stefan, the twins do illegal things, and everyone's a Drama Queen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I hate rich text, I'll have to edit this later but whatever, I have a Polyvore account the name is randomfashionsxoxo I'll try to include it in the chapters later. Thanks for reading my story!

Nova is sitting behind Elena it's the last class of the day, she's currently drawing the soon to be couple in her sketchpad.

Mr. Dickbag- Oh sorry Mr. Reject Snape- Oops she means; Mr. Tanner is talking and she's not really listening because everything that comes out his mouth is like the dirt beneath her shoes, aka, undeserving of her time and effort.

The man is frequently inaccurate with his history and an asshole to his students; he once made a girl burst into tears during class, that girl had to be moved to a different town because she kept breaking down in sobs every time she saw the man after the incident. The only thing that keeps him employed is the fact he's not a completely terrible football coach, and he's also poker buddies with the principal; the principal is also shit at his job, the whole student body could all be turned into vampires and the man wouldn't notice a damn thing.

"Once our home state of Virginia joined Confederacy in 1861, it created a tremendous amount of tension within the state." Nova doodles hearts coming out of Elena's and Stefan's eyes when she sees Elena subtly looking at her cell before looking at Stefan, who's staring, which is kinda creepy, just a little.

The fact he's pretty made up for the creep factor.

"People in Virginia's northwest region had different Ideals than those from the traditional deep south, then Virginia divided in 1863 with the northwest region joining the union." Mr. Tanner continues but all Nova can hear is blah, blah, someone fire this man, blah.

When does Alaric come to Mystic Falls, she thinks silently, she'll have to look in her journal later, it's hard to remember things from a television show she hasn't watched in decades.

Nova is putting all of her school books in her locker after class when Caroline walks over to her and with no warning, the blonde yanks her white tank down enough to see the Victoria Secret push up bra.

"I knew something was different, you're wearing your 'fuck me' bra!" Caroline exclaims loudly, while Nova covers herself back up, not caring in the least that Caroline practically stripped her in the middle of the halls and that at least five people saw it.

Caroline has done worse in public, hell, Nova has done worse in public.

"'Fuck me bra', really?" Nova quoted in question, extremely amused as she slams her locker shut snapping the padlock on. "You wear it every time you're trying to get someone's attention, and you haven't worn it in like forever." Caroline over exaggerates in a 'duh' manner, and it's kind of scary how well Nova's friends know her. This may be her favorite push up bra that she only wears on special occasions, she doesn't really wear it to get anyone's attention, but it does lift her boobs up better than any other bra she has.

"How do you notice that stuff, Care?" Nova ignoring the question as they walk out of the school doors and towards her car as Nova pulls back on her leather jacket she had taken off during class, before unlocking the car doors and sliding in.

"Who is it?" Caroline demanded to know, also ignoring the question, while she got in the car.

"No one you would know." Nova replies truthfully before turning on the radio, Rolling Stones 'Satisfaction' playing, she turns it up loud to drown out Caroline's questions, laughing at her friend when she pouts.

Later; Nova, Caroline, and Bonnie enter the Grill talking about, shockingly, Stefan Salvatore, [insert sarcasm here].

Nova likes him, even if she hasn't met him properly yet, but if she hears his name this much after today, she's moving to a different small town, with a different group of Vampires, Doppelgangers, Witches, Werewolves, Vampire Hunters, Original Vampires, and Hybrids.

Well, aren't they a special bunch, she thinks sarcastically.

"His name is Stefan Salvatore, he lives with his uncle up at the old Salvatore Boarding House," Caroline reports to them like a news reporter, as they walk towards their table, drinks in hand.

Bonnie stiffens at the name, they both know it well, with Grams having told them stories about the vampires who periodically visit Mystic Falls; and how most of the time their visits end in chaos and death. "He hasn't lived here since he was a kid." Nova pulls out her picture of Stefan from her tote, just admiring the art that is a Salvatore's ass.

"Military family, so they moved around a lot, he's a Gemini and his favorite color is blue." Caroline finishes.

"You got that all in one day?" Bonnie asks, forcing herself to relax under the blonde's gaze. "Oh, please, I got all that between third and fourth period." Caroline grins at them, "We're planning a June wedding."

"Am I invited?" Nova asks, not taking her eyes off the picture.

"Of course, you'll be my maid of honor, what are you looking at..." Caroline trailing off as she leans over the table towards Nova, snatching the picture from her fingers.

"Hey!" Nova mourns at the total lack of art in her hands, while Bonnie just smiles at her twin before leaning to sneak a peek at the picture.

"Is that?" Caroline asks eyes wide. "It is, she took it before class." Bonnie confirms leaning back into the chair.

"Wow..." Caroline says not taking her eyes off the beauty, "Can I have a copy?" Caroline says completely serious.

"Of course, I mean as your maid of honor, I have a duty to uphold." Nova answers, also completely serious, before snatching the picture back and hiding it in her tote, making the blonde pout.

A few soda's and plenty of gossip later, that Nova doesn't care about but pretends to for Caroline's sake; Nova gets up from the table when she sees Jeremy, while Caroline gets up to go to the bathroom.

Matt walks past Nova towards Bonnie, probably to ask about Elena, again. "Remember your manners, Matthew," Nova says to the jock, her voice mockingly stern. Matt ignores her, which is rude, she kind of wishes Matt and Elena never dated, he used to laugh at her humor, now it's like he's constantly PMSing.

Nova walks up behind Jeremy who's staring at Vicki Donovan. What the hell is it with the males she knows staring at girls, it's kind of creepy, she thought. Nova stands on her toes to whisper in his ear, what, she's like one inch taller than Bonnie, she remembers being taller than 5'3 and mourns the loss of height.

"Do know that staring is frowned on in some cultures?" Nova whispered in his ear making him jump slightly, before pretending that he had known she was there all along. "What do you want, Nova?" Jeremy asks moodily, turning back to stare at Vicki.

"I was just checking up on my half-man." Nova leans back on her heel, pulling the hood from his head, making him finally look at her.

"Half-man?" He questions uninterestedly, pulling the hood back over his head. "Yeah, you know, a provider," Nova continues when he keeps looking at her with a blank look in his eyes," a slinger, a d-boi or do you prefer street pharmacist?" Her voice teasing but her eyes deadly serious.

Jeremy's eyes widen as he looks around to make sure no one heard her before grabbing her arm pulling her over towards an empty corner. "How do you know?" Jeremy demands, looking around nervously, she snatches her arm back.

"What that you've been dealing?" She responds rhetorically, making him shush her, looking over his shoulder, "Calm the fuck down dude, you look suspicious enough as is." She scolds, hitting his arm, making him finally calm down enough to pay attention to her.

"First of all, I get invited to a lot of parties and people talk about the little Gilbert, who used to be clean as soap, dealing." Jeremy rolls his eyes, but Nova continues ignoring his attitude because she has worse attitude problems than he does. "Second, of all, you're shit at hiding your 'extra curricular activities', I'm surprised Elena hasn't found out," Nova says with air quotes, nodding her head at the girl in question who just entered the Grill with Stefan.

"You haven't told her?" Jeremy asks, shocked.

"If I had you would know because you'd be dead, for Elena's fury is terrifying." Nova snarks before continuing, "Besides, I'm not a snitch, no matter how fucking stupid I think you are right now." Nova is offended he thought she'd rat him out, she thinks it must show on her face because he looks guilty, good. "Elena's my friend, but so are you, sometimes, when you aren't being such a moody little shit."

And with that she left him alone in all of his emo glory, hurrying to reach Elena and Stefan, who just had a minor pissing contest with a jealous Matt; they're approaching Bonnie and Caroline when Nova slides between them grabbing hold of their shoulders. Stefan stiffens for a split second before forcing himself to relax, which she ignores to talk to Elena.

"Elena, are you going to introduce me to your new friend?" Nova pulls out the puppy dog eyes, leaning on her friend slightly, letting go of Stefan's shoulder in the process. Elena laughs, her eyes vibrant and her laugh genuine, wow, she thinks her heart skipped a beat. She hasn't seen Elena this happy in months; Stefan is clearly working his Salvatore magic already.

"Nova, this is Stefan Salvatore, Stefan, this is Nova Bennett, one of my best friends." Elena introduces them, Stefan shakes her offered hand. Nova easily ignores the feeling of death when she holds his hand, it sent a shiver down her spine, but she's used to the feel of death, it haunts her dreams every night.

"Nice to meet you, Nova," Stefan spoke with an amused smile when he recognized her from earlier, his eyes flickered to the rings on her hand curiously. She forgot she had those on, she tries not to grin and fails.

"You too." Nova reluctantly let go of his hand, and they continue to walk over to a wary Bonnie and a slightly over eager Caroline; let the integration begin, Nova thinks, grinning wickedly at a now mildly concerned Elena.

"So, you were born in Mystic Falls?" Caroline begins after introductions.

"Mhm," Stefan nods from next to Elena while Nova is next to her twin sister. "And moved when I was still young."

Nova would join in the interrogation if she didn't know almost everything about him. She has her sketch pad out instead, drawing Stefan with Bonnie looking over her shoulder every now and then.

"Parents?" Bonnie practically challenges, curious to see what he says now that she knows what he is, she presumably connected the dots, between the last name and Nova's warning, her twin should know what Stefan is; she can't be forthright with her knowledge, telling people what she see's in detail can end in disaster.

Either they go into denial or others try to change it, the change isn't always an improvement from what would have happened without their interference.

As soon as Grams found out about her Visions she was given a ancestors personal journal, inscribed on the aged pages are the day to day life of a Bennett Witch born in the late 1700's. Everything from her life born as a slave, how her accurate Visions got her the illusion of freedom and instantaneous fame, not to mention how her beauty captured the eye of a married wealthy caucasian male, how he took her as a concubine and how they fell in love and how it was a well-known secret in the village, how their children born out of wedlock were all Witches and Warlocks; and how one day she had said the wrong thing to the wrong person and it eventually got her drowned by the local priests, her family had managed to flee the wrath of the town by sneaking out as soon as her death reached their ears.

Her eldest son took over writing after her death, moving to a different village, doing what his mother did before him, he was more powerful and craftier than his mother, was always on the move, only using his gift for Divination for the wealthy. Only one day he wasn't so clever and foretold a prophecy, in the middle of the town, warning them of a plague, only to be accused of cursing them; despite how powerful he was, his kind soul got him killed, burned by the locals, despite knowing he was going to die he didn't fight, he said it was time for him to die, it was the last warning he ever told, his own death.

Nova is careful with her knowledge, always was going to be, Seer or not. She was never going to go around telling people their probable fates, only to get killed by Mystic Falls shit Council. She likes Sheriff Forbes, but all of the council members have access to a vervain supplier yet they never gave any to their children, not until it was too late, they talk a good game about keeping the town safe but in the end, most of them are just small minded people who don't know much about the universe and what they do know they judge based off of their dead ancestors judgements.

"My parents passed away." He forgot to mention he ate his father, she's not judging at all, from what she remembers his father killed his own flesh and blood, at least twice, and before that was just a stereotypical father in the mid 1800's, which just means he was a shit personality with very small views on the world.

"I'm sorry." Elena says understandingly, they do the whole staring thing again before Elena continues, "Any siblings?"

"None that I talk to, I live with my uncle." Stefan's technically not lying, but also he's not telling the full story. He doesn't talk to his brother, willingly; uncle, very distant great-great nephew, obviously the same thing.

Nova adds sparkles to the drawing of Stefan on a whim, making her twin laugh, before covering it up with a cough as everyone looked towards her curiously.

"So, Stefan, if you're new, then you don't know about the party tomorrow," Caroline states a little too eagerly if the look Bonnie shot her was anything to go by.

"It's a back to school thing, at the falls." Bonnie clarifies.

"Are you going?" Stefan questions Elena, cue intense staring, Caroline looking slightly put out about it.

"Of course she is." Bonnie and Nova say in sync; causing Stefan to look over at them, breaking the staring contest with Elena.

"How are you two related?" Stefan questions, looking between the twins.

"Oh, no, we just share the same last name, look alike and share a birthdate, totally not related." Nova teases, making Caroline and Elena roll their eyes with a grin. "We're fraternal twins." Bonnie cuts her sister off, knowing if she doesn't say anything Nova will become even more sarcastic and scathing.

"Ah." Stefan nods, not looking very surprised at the answer or the sarcasm.

After fifteen more minutes of idle chit-chat, Stefan leaves the local restaurant, leaving the three girls alone for the first time in months. Nova's slightly aggravated but not surprised when Caroline pounces on Elena, about Stefan, cue dramatic sigh.

"Are you two like a thing now, what about Matt?" Caroline questions the now slightly shocked teenager, probably because Stefan literally just left.

"Caroline, she just met him, today." Bonnie says, looking at the blonde in disbelief. "It totally could happen!" Caroline gives Bonnie a slightly dirty look for not siding with her before the blonde turns back to Elena with an expectant look.

"We're not together," Elena's slightly blushing at the thought, "he returned my journal from when we ran into each other earlier, and I invited him along because he's new and doesn't know anyone." Caroline relaxes at Elena's reassurance; Nova knows that Caroline is insecure, the girls are closer than they had been at the beginning of the show, it's something Nova initiated with the weekly slumber parties and complete lack of regard for personal space, but all of them still butt heads often, including Nova.

She feels like part of the reason Caroline had been a little bit of a bitch during 'season one' was because the blonde hadn't had anyone she could really talk to without judgment and without censoring her thoughts, badly, but all the same.

The blonde used to have her dad only for him to leave her.

Caroline had then been used and abused by a vampire who had flipped his switch but also was caught in the middle of The Salvatore brother's bullshit it had mentally scarred her and then suddenly she was turned into a Vampire by someone who looks exactly like one of her best friends.

No one had even noticed that she had been killed and turned into a Vampire until she killed someone.

Nova is closer to Caroline than she is to Elena, while Bonnie is closer to Elena than Caroline whilst the twins are well, twins, it ties all of them together more than it did when it was just the three girls, because Nova can listen to Caroline vent about how she feels second-rate to Elena, and Bonnie won't feel angry on Elena's behalf because she won't have to hear it.

All of the girls have issues and faults, they're so different from each other that it's impossible for them not to be irritated at each other at least once a week, but their friendship works because of the differences and despite them.

This whole wanting Stefan is more about someone wanting Elena over the blonde, which to be fair, has happened a lot in their childhood.

"And Matt?" Bonnie questions, but she looks like she already knows the answer.

"Matt and I are done, I can't stay with him when I'm not in love with him anymore." Elena looked so remorseful for breaking up with Matt because she doesn't love him anymore, but no one should force themselves to be in love someone, it just hurts both people in the relationship even more, and the relationship ends up becoming a lie.

"Just because you aren't dating Stefan, doesn't mean he doesn't want inside your pants, he was trying to woo you with his brooding eyes." Nova breaks the slightly awkward silence that had fallen.

The girls all laugh at that, poor Elena blushing, they end up talking for almost an hour, just catching up for lost time, the slightly uncomfortable tension broken.

Nova drove Caroline home and as soon as the blonde was tucked safely inside her home, she drove to the cemetery, a little paranoid as she kept checking her rear view mirror.

Nova had been procrastinating in her planning; but she can't any longer, she needs leverage over a certain Salvatore, and she needs help to get it, so she texted Bonnie after she parked not far away from the cemetery.

'Need help. Come 2 cemetery.' She pressed send, before waiting, it'll take Bonnie a while to get here, enough time for the already setting sun to go down.

She had a black backpack on her cramped back seat, she hauled it to the front and took out two black hoodies. She pulled off her jewelry and put it in her tote bag, yanked her nice shirt off, her hands knocking against the roof of the car in the process, her head thumping against the window as she changed into the black hoodie and her head knocked against her steering wheel when she thoughtlessly started to tighten her shoe laces, once she's finished changing she felt comforted by the fact no one had been there to see, she has her pride.

She left the other black hoodie for her sister, she was chilling in her car, the music playing softly, reading her journal, the page turned to what she wrote in her youth about everything she remembered from the 'first season', when twenty minutes later, she felt Bonnie's Magic before she saw her arrive in her rear view mirror.

Shutting her journal, she cut the engine off and got out of the car, pulling the backpack on her shoulders.

"Need help, come to cemetery, you know if you weren't my sister I'd think you planned to kill me and bury me in a marked grave." Bonnie reads the text off her phone, walking away from her parked car and towards her twin, eyeing her change in clothing curiously.

Nova rolled her eyes leaning on her car's trunk, "I'd be a little more creative than that." Bonnie eyed her sister warily, not sure if she was joking, before shrugging it off.

"What kind of help do you need in a cemetery?" Bonnie asks, her eyes flicking around uneasily. Nova grinned brightly at her sister, but it just makes Bonnie even more suspicious, which Nova ignored to unlock her truck, yanking the rug she half-assedly used to cover the items, pulling out a flashlight, and the only shovel that would fit in her trunk, before turning back to her wary sister with the items in hand.

"We're going grave robbing," Nova replied enthusiastically to her now shocked sister, before throwing her shocked sister the matching hoodie. "Put that on," Nova ordered before walking towards the closed cemetery gates, turning on the flash light.

"What, why?" Bonnie questioned after getting over her shock, rushing to follow her sister, pulling the black hoodie over her blouse.

"You know that with Stefan in town the eldest brother is soon to follow, and while they're both wild cards, Damon's the one we want to watch out for, for now at least, and I know what he wants." She replied eyeing the closed gate before shrugging.

Without a word Nova threw the shovel over the gate, it fell with a heavy thump that made Bonnie jump slightly, she then grabbed the black iron fence and started climbing it with the ease of an athlete, she reached the top quickly and swung over to the other side of the fence, quickly dropping to the other side, she smirked smugly at her sister once she got her bearings; Bonnie, though is rather unimpressed with the performance as she shoved the gate with a raised eyebrow as the gate thought to be locked creaked open.

"...Or you could do that, but I thought my way was much cooler." Nova said to Bonnie who walks in through the gate, staring at her sister in amusement.

Nova got over her minor embarrassment quickly as she grabbed the shovel and headed towards the older section of the graveyard, Bonnie one step behind her. Nova's brown eyes flickered around to make sure no one is here, despite how spooky this place is sometimes the stoners will 'party' around here; not to mention the fact that Ghosts and Spirits are very much real; and while they can't interact with the real world much, they still can find a way, particularly if they had been a witch before they died.

"And what does he want?" Bonnie asks after a moment of silence, not asking how she knows, figuring it was one of her Visions.

Nova doesn't reply, pointing to her ears, her twin understood immediately, and they quietly continued on from then on, silently looking for the Salvatore family graves, shining the flashlight on the graves.

"Here you are..." Nova eventually broke the silence a few minutes later, throwing the heavy shovel in the earth in front of the grave that's marked 'Giuseppe', it's rather old, the stone is gradually crumbling.

Nova threw the backpack to her sister, who caught it effortlessly. "Light the sage, I don't want to attract anyone with super hearing attention." Nova told her sister, keeping an eye out.

Bonnie complied without a word, she pulled the white sage smudge stick out of its packaging, before murmuring, her gaze firmly on the sage. "Incendia." The sage ignited at her words, the smoke spreading into the atmosphere. It'll keep Supernatural Beings from eavesdropping, just because they hadn't sensed anyone watching them doesn't mean they aren't eyes on them.

"You're such a drama queen, you could have lighted it without the incantation," Nova announced amusedly after she felt the smoke create the invisible sound barrier.

Bonnie huffed at her sister as she put the sage on top of the grave, a blush staining her cheeks that she ignored to turn to her twin with a raised brow, silently reminding her she still has yet to explain anything. "He wants to open a tomb in Mystic Falls that currently has twenty-six desiccated vampires inside." Nova answered the silent question nonchalantly.

"What!?" Bonnie yelled, making Nova stop to shush her, they both look around in panic, only relaxing when they remember no one can hear them. Bonnie looks to her silently asking her to clarify, "He's looking for someone, his old lover, the one who turned him and his brother, he thinks she's in the tomb." Nova clarified for her sister, playing with the flashlight.

"He thinks she's in the tomb." Bonnie caught on to the wording, with a raised brow. Nova smirks before continuing, "She's not there, she never was apparently, she escaped her fate and then faked her death." Katherine's a slippery one; always looking out for her own survival, never staying in any one place for too long, always changing with the tide of the ocean to blend in, it sounds like a very tragic and empty existence.

"Why don't we just tell him, that she's not in this tomb?" Bonnie inquiries, it would be easier, but also improbable for a number of reasons. "He wouldn't believe us, we could tell him everything we know about him, stuff people shouldn't know, and he still wouldn't believe us, he needs to see it for himself," Nova replied as Bonnie set the backpack on the dirt.

"I thought Grams said we could keep our friends safe but we weren't going to interfere in 'vampire business', and you still haven't told me why we're robbing a grave," Bonnie adds on as an after thought, eyeing the name and date on the grave.

"Grams is trying to protect us, we are trying to protect our friends and to do that we have to interfere, and we're robbing a grave because it has our family heirloom," Nova replied to each question, handing her sister the flashlight.

"Family heirloom?" Bonnie repeated questioningly, pointing the flashlight at the grave without being asked.

"Emily Bennetts Grimoire," Nova answered, shocking her sister for the millionth time tonight.

"Why the hell was a Salvatore buried with our ancestor's Grimoire?" Bonnie is rightfully outraged. Nova shrugged, equally bothered by the fact, she doesn't remember how he got it, she's not even sure if it was mentioned how or why he was buried with it. "I don't know why all I know is it's rightfully ours as Bennett witches and we'll definitely need it."

"Dig," Bonnie ordered, impatient now that she knows what they're after, pointing the flashlight at the grave.

Nova started digging without complaint, there's probably a spell they could have used, but she doesn't want to draw too much attention to the ever so meddlesome Spirits.

After a while, maybe about thirty minutes, she's dug up a sizable about of dirt, about halfway down to the grave she starts giggling, making Bonnie shine the light directly on her, "...Are you laughing while digging up a man's grave?" Bonnie questioned tentatively, but Nova just waves away the concern for her sanity, still giggling.

"It's just something Caroline said earlier, she asked if we were going to pull a Winchester." Nova replied looking up at her sister, panting and giggling at the same time. Bonnie rolled her eyes, grinning at her slightly delirious sister, before reaching towards her twin with her only free hand.

"Come on then, Dean, we'll switch, someone clearly needs a break." Bonnie teases, Nova sighed in pure relief, taking the hand and climbing up, before collapsing on the dirt. Bonnie handed her the flashlight, before skidding into the dug up hole. Nova stood up after a moment, before pointing the flashlight on the grave.

Nova should have brought snacks, and her mp3 player, and a blanket because it's fucking cold, maybe some hot cocoa too.

Bonnie interrupts her thinking thirty minutes later, around the time she started day dreaming - or is it night dreaming - about food.

"I think I got it."

Nova peers into the dirt hole, shining the flashlight into the dug up grave, she see's Bonnie attempting to lift the old wooden casket latch, if she could even call it that with it being so old, it takes her a while to open it and in the end she had to use her magic to pry it open. "Whoa.." Bonnie gasps when she finally got it open, she tried her best to ignore the eerie skeleton, seizing hold of the fragile light beige colored grimoire, she grimaced slightly as she had to yank slightly on the Grimoire to get the hardened skeleton hands to let it go.

"We got it." Bonnie looks up at her sister, they share a grin, before Bonnie hands the old grimoire to her sister, before throwing the shovel up after it.

Nova put the Grimoire carefully in the backpack, pulling out another book out of the backpack before running back towards a waiting Bonnie. "I thought we could put something in place of Grimoire, so poor Giuseppe won't be lonely," Nova explained when to her twin looks at her questioningly when Nova hands her the book instead of helping her out of the grave.

Bonnie looked up at her thoroughly amused, waving the book slightly, "A cookbook though?" Bonnie questioned. Nova shrugged with a mischievous grin, her twin didn't press about what she was up to, even though she was curious, she just placed the cookbook on top of the skeleton, before placing the broken half of wood back in place.

Nova immediately helped Bonnie climb up out of the grave, they don't have time to put the dirt back the old fashioned way, they've been here for nearly two hours, and the sage is essentially finished burning. "Ready?" Nova asked her sister, who nods confidently.

They lift their available hands towards the pile of earth, other hands clasped together; and chanted as one.

"Ingentia ad terram suam unde erat."

The pile of dirt gradually but surely descended back to where it had originated from, covering the place where there had once been a hole. The spell hardly fazed them, it was a simple one really, but they were tired and aching from all the digging, so after kicking some rocks onto the grave to make it look more natural, grabbing the shovel, bookbag and completely burned sage; they left the graveyard and headed home in their cars.

Back at home, after they both took a long shower, the twins are in their PJs, laying on the living room couch, having no choice but to do their homework before heading to bed, the only thing that softened the realization was the Ben & Jerry ice cream Grams had left in the freezer; Nova got the chunky monkey while Bonnie claimed the banana split, Merlin is currently circling below, waiting to pounce on the dessert. It's quiet as they work until Bonnie looks at her twin sister.

"So, vampires..." Bonnie affirmed.

"Mhm..I honestly thought you'd want to go guns a blazing towards the Salvatore Boarding house as soon as you saw caught his last name." Nova admits her eyes on her sister, but she remembers how Bonnie found out about Vampires in the show and thinks that being bitten savagely by a vengeful Damon might have turned her off.

He also was one of the reasons Grams had died, not to mention he turned Vicki Donovan and was just an all around dick.

Nova is looking at a solid maybe on the Damon Salvatore as the reason the old Bonnie hated vampires.

"I don't want to judge someone because of what they are, that'd make me a hypocrite," Bonnie answers leaning forward with her spoon in hand towards her sister's ice cream. They have a mini spoon fight before Nova gives up and they swap ice cream flavors.

"But it does make me nervous, them being here, and his interest in Elena," Bonnie admits fear creeping in her voice. Nova just scoops ice cream in her mouth not saying anything and just letting Bonnie vent; Nova can joke and talk as much as the next person, but she used to be a quiet yet sarcastic person and an excellent listener, and she still is, she knows when people need the silence and when they can't stand it. She's shit at talking about her own problems but she likes listening to other peoples problems and helping them.

"We've read about vampires. Grams even told us everything she knew about them, but learning about them and meeting one are two different things." Bonnie's just playing with the ice cream now, so Nova snatches the carton out of her sister's hand before setting both tubs of ice cream down on the coffee table.

"It makes it more real doesn't it?" Nova grabs her sister's hand comfortingly when Bonnie nods green eyes scared. Good, she can work with scared, scared is better than arrogant; too much confidence gets a person killed, there's a difference between believing in your Magic and just being fucking stupid.

"It's going to be hard, we'll probably never have a normal life, I know that's what you want, but I'll try to be here for you through it all, twin." Bonnie smiles at Nova's words before letting her head drop to her older sister's shoulder.

"Promise?" Bonnie asks her question reminiscent to when they were younger.

"I promise, that I'll try my best." Nova hugs her sister and playing with her dark brunette hair, she knows it's unrealistic to promise such things, and she can't lie to her sister about these things, not even if she tried, so she just promises to try.

That's the only thing she can promise to do.

Bonnie is so very young, Nova sometimes forgets just much how older she technically is because her twin always acts so mature and grounded, the total opposite of what Nova is. Nova's personality is as young as her body but she's intellectually around thirty, sometimes she feels older than she is, she always has, even in her older life.

She either acts too juvenile or too old; there's no in between with her.

Nova might die protecting her loved ones and she'd be okay with that, she doesn't want to die, but death stopped terrifying her long ago. Dying has never bothered her, leaving her loved ones behind, that's what bothered her, she has a second opportunity at life, not a lot of people can say that; she's going to enjoy her life and embrace the incredible along with the chaos and live how she wants to live until she dies, again.

Wasting her life is not an option, turning her back on her friends and family is not an option, she can multitask.

Nova loves them all too much to abandon them in need.

She's tried the whole dating thing, she wants to experience life to the fullest, having wasted her old life, and finding love had been a part of experiencing life, but it had only lasted one month before she got bored and the thought of being with someone till she died makes her skin crawl, she might be a little bit of a commitment-phobic in this life.

She adores her new life and her new friends and family as about as intensely as she could love anyone else. But she doesn't think she'll ever fall in love, and she's okay with that.

As long as she has her friends and family by her side, she can live without the Nicholas Sparks novel.

They fall asleep like that, just talking like they used to do when they were kids; It was perfect.


	5. Stupid Fucking Salvatore's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuff happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol, I forgot I had this story on this site, I update more on ff if you want faster updates, it's under the same name, check out my Polyvore, randomfashionsxoxo for Nova's fashion, Enjoy!
> 
> Or don't whatever..

It was a terrible idea, Nova acknowledged the next morning.

Nova is nudged awake by a hungry Familiar; with a crick in her neck from falling asleep on the couch and half of her body asleep and the other half sore from her illicit activities last night. Groaning in mild disgust when Merlin licks at her nose, she pulls back from the feline, before shaking Bonnie who's sleeping half on the couch and half on her.

No wonder half of Nova's body is numb.

When her twin only mumbled and held on to her tighter, she rolled her eyes and shook her sister again. No response from the sleeping girl makes her impatient, so Nova did the only logical thing she could do; and pushed her sister off of her and onto the floor, finally free from her sister's koala bear grip, Nova sighed in relief.

"Fuck!" Bonnie yells as her back came in contact with the floor, she glares at her twin, who's looking down at her beaming innocently at her from the couch. "You alright, down there, twin?" Nova inquiries mockingly, her eyes amused as her sister fixes her with an even more irritated scowl, it's so adorable.

"Why did you do that?" Bonnie asked with a huff when Nova finally helped her sister up from the floor. "You're heavy." Nova states as though it should be obvious making the green eyed twin roll her eyes.

They woke up early enough to finish the rest of their homework, the melted ice cream too late to save was knocked over, spilled on the coffee table and half eaten by Merlin and had to be cleaned up. Merlin was fed by Bonnie and fur was brushed by Nova, the feline regularly spoiled by the sisters now purred in content from the kitchen window sill. Grams should be over soon for breakfast so they set the coffee maker on and raced up the small staircase towards the bathroom, there's one downstairs but it only has a sink, a bath, and toilet, her slightly longer legs reached the door to the bathroom first.

"First out of the womb, first into the bathroom." Nova remarks before shutting the door in Bonnie's confused face. "That made absolutely no sense, Nova!" Bonnie's voice said from behind the door before huffing and walking away.

Nova had a mini meltdown in the shower when she remembered what's going to happen soon; Damon Salvatore.

She doesn't remember details from the show very well, even with her Journal she doesn't know everything that happened because she never remembered everything that happened, but she remembers some things. First, comes The Salvatores, then the tomb vampires, then comes John and Isobel, and Katherine soon follows, with Rose and Trevor close behind.

And then one by one came The Originals.

Nova's not really scared of them though, at least not the siblings, that's not what has her panicking; it's the fact she's excited that has her panicking, which is a weird thing to be freaking out over, but she's going to anyway. The thing is, she's that she's not that confident in herself to go toe to toe with any of the Mikaelsons; she's just excited to meet them, just the thought of the history they must have seen, the stories they must have, the drama they'll bring, okay maybe that last one she isn't too thrilled for but whatever, at least her life will never be boring.

The fact they're all fucking gorgeous is just icing on the cake.

She figures it must be a Vampire thing; to turn people who are equally attractive as them.

She knows Damon's going to try to entice Caroline sooner or later, just to fuck with his brother. She liked the Damon in the show, but she won't stand by and watch her best friend being mentally and physically abused by a vampire with his switch turned off.

She doesn't want to use her Magic to hurt him or kill him, just warn him off fucking with her loved ones. The brothers can torment each other for eternity all they want, her friends aren't going to get caught in the middle of that if she can help it. She has a plan, she's just hoping it'll work because if it doesn't, things might get ugly.

Once out of the shower she decided to wear a simple blue spaghetti strap dress with thick tights, black leather ankle boots, and her favorite leather jacket. Hanging from her neck is a blue heart shaped charm necklace with a silver chain to match her dress, silver hoops and the same rings as yesterday, she applied a little concealer under her eyelids to hide the dark circles under her eyes and some coconut lip balm.

Too lazy to do her hair she pulled on a black beanie and shoves it over her now messy curls she had curled yesterday before grabbing the same black tote from yesterday off of the never slept in bed before heading down the stairs.

When she makes it downstairs she beams at the sight of Grams and Bonnie in the kitchen from the living room archway; Bonnie already dressed, wearing a blue and gray boho blouse with dark jeans and black flats. They're talking quietly with mugs in hand sat down at the kitchen's small circular table; the smell of coffee and pancakes makes her sigh in content as she sits in the only chair left causing them look at her.

"Morning Grams." Nova greets with a small kiss on the elder woman's cheek, as Bonnie got up and passed her a mug of coffee and a plate of three pancakes topped with fruit, she murmured a soft 'thanks' to her sister before digging in. "Morning." Grams replied with an amused look in her eyes.

"Uh oh, I know that look, what did I do now?" Nova questioned, her mouth full of pancakes making Bonnie grimace and throw a balled up napkin at her. "Gross, Nova." Bonnie got even more disgusted by Nova's slightly opened mouth leaning towards her, making her grin before closing her mouth.

Grams looks at the display with even more amusement than before. "Don't talk with your mouth full, sweetie." The scolding just makes Nova smile warmly so Grams replied to the earlier question, "Bonnie was just telling me what you did to the youngest Salvatore." Grams said in amusement while eyeing her eldest granddaughter in mild disapproval as she pours syrup on her pancakes with a heavy hand.

"Technically I haven't done anything to him, yet." Nova smiles wickedly at both of them, before continuing after another bite, "Besides Elena wants to do more to him than I do." Nova's voice is anything but innocent, and Bonnie hits her sister's arm, "Ouch that hurt." Nova deadpanned, her twin just sighs, resigned to the fact her sister is more perverted than a teenage boy.

"And here I was worried about you both." Grams said dryly, taking a sip out of her own mug.

"You should probably worry less about what the Salvatores will do to us and more about what we'll do to them." Bonnie declares sharing a grin with Nova, who agrees with a hum while drinking her coffee, and shoveling pancakes into her mouth, her eyes closed in bliss.

Grams smirks at them proudly before sobering abruptly.

"I want you both to be careful around them, both of them, while Stefan might mean no harm, he's still a vampire and vampires love to drag witches into their problems." Grams voices her concerns with a frown at both girls who sit up and pay attention to their worried Grams. "You're both still drinking the liquid vervain I gave you?" At the girl's nods Grams sighs a tired sigh before grabbing their empty mugs and plates. "Good, you girls should go to school, you're going to be late."

The twins exchanged a look before walking out of the house together.

"See you later, Grams!" They say in sync, leaving when they get a reply, "Have a good day girl's!"

"Do you think she's right, that they're going force us to use our magic for their own uses?" Bonnie whispered to her sister while walking towards the street where their cars are parked.

"Yes, no doubt about it, but remember, we can say no in a not so pleasant manner," Nova replies to her slightly worried sister, not sugarcoating anything, opening her car door but not getting in yet.

"And if we can't say no?" Bonnie asked her sister with a frown, also opening her car door. "And if we can't say no, we ask for compensation," Nova said as though it should be obvious.

"Money, really?" Bonnie asked, opening her own car door.

"Or sexual favors, I mean favors, whichever floats your boat." Nova says cheerfully, before continuing slightly more seriously, "Did you tell her about the..." Nova trailed off with a look at her twin, who shook her head in a negative. "I didn't want to say anything before talking to you first, we'll tell her together, soon." Bonnie replied to her twins silently questioning if she had told their Grams about their slightly illegal activities this morning.

She doesn't have to pick up Caroline today, with her parents having finally bought her the car she had been waiting for, so Nova takes her time to get to school, but eventually parks in the school parking lot. Yay, more school, Nova thinks sarcastically, as she entered the school's double doors.

 

* * *

 

 

Later in History; Nova is sitting in the very back with her sketch pad out with her history book covering it from the 'teachers' view. Nova loves history, or rather she had loved history before she met the asshat called Mr. Tanner.

The class even once had to read a Mystic Falls 'history' book written by him, the book is more fiction than fact, and not very good fiction either; this coming from a girl who was reincarnated in a universe that had been a TV show in her old life and is now a Witch surrounded by other Supernatural Beings.

Mr. Tanner though is like every shit Harry Potter professor had a baby and made him; Mr. 'I'm a toolbag', Tanner.

"The Battle of Willow Creek took place right at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls, how many casualties resulted in this battle? Ms. Bennett?" Tanner must really like the sound of his voice.

She ignores him assuming he's talking to her twin, she was thankfully right. "Umm...a lot? I'm not sure, like a whole lot." Bonnie answered, making her twin smile.

"Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Ms. Bennett," Tanner said to his student, wiping the grin from Nova's face as she finally paid attention to the man that calls himself an educator.

Mr. Tanner turned towards Matt, "Mr. Donovan, would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?"

"It's okay, Mr. Tanner, I'm cool with it." Matt confirms, making the whole class chuckle.

"Mmm... Elena, surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most significant historical events?" Mr. Tanner turned his ugly mug towards a startled Elena, "I'm sorry, I... don't know." Elena answered stuttering slightly as she was caught off guard by the question.

"I was willing to be lenient, for obvious reasons, Elena, but the personal excuses ended with summer break." Mr. Tanner said completely unapologetic as the class stared at him in stunned belief, Elena sunk in her chair, her hair hiding her face from view.

Nova is outraged and struggling not to lash out with her Magic.

Elena's parents died, just four months ago, she didn't get the flu or forget to bring her homework in a couple, times, her parents fucking died and she was this close to dying with them, she probably has survivors guilt; he can go suck a cock, preferably his own.

"There were 346 casualties, FYI, unless you're counting local civilians." Nova steals boy-wonder's line, making the whole class turn towards her, Elena shooting her a grateful glance as the attention is now off of her. She's growing tired of Tanner harassing his own students to make himself feel like an Alpha male when he's barely even a male. If Damon doesn't kill him, she will.

"That's correct, Miss. Bennett, except, of course, there were no civilian casualties in this battle." Tanner tried to belittle her like he did to her friends only she's not taking his shit, and neither is Stefan apparently.

"Actually, there were 27, sir." Stefan interrupts the stare down between student and teacher, making everyone look towards him. "Confederate soldiers, they fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons, they were wrong, it was a night of great loss." Stefan stated before going in for the kill, "The founder's archives are, uh, stored in the Civil Hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts, Mr. Tanner." Stefan finished mockingly, his confidence and complete disregard for Mr. Tanner's authority slightly turning her on.

"Hm.." Mr. Tanner glared slightly at Stefan before the last bell of the day rang, and everyone got the hell out.

 

* * *

 

 

Nova didn't bother changing for the party, knowing that what she wore to school was good enough for this party. It's quite tame compared to the other parties thrown during the summer, mainly because they have to get up in the morning and not in the late afternoon. They had all come together in Nova's car, but they had split up in different directions a short while ago.

Nova is currently making out with a party crasher against a tree, he was cute and had dimples, she's a sucker for dimples. His hands were slowly inching up her dress, his touch feather light on her thighs, she gives him a four out of ten for the teasing; but he's not a particularly skilled kisser, all teeth and tongue, she thought as he practically mauled her mouth. Nova tried to guide the kiss but it still feels like he's trying to eat her face instead of kissing her.

She's really fucking grateful when a throat being cleared broke them apart, the party crasher was obviously not, as he glared at a nonplussed Bonnie. "What do you want, can't you see I'm a little busy here?" He snaps with a glare. Bonnie raised an eyebrow, not intimidated whatsoever.

"You're cute, terrible kisser, but cute, but no one talks to my sister that way." Nova pushes his hands away firmly, his face as she said that was priceless, he went from 'wtf' to 'oh shit' in two seconds flat. "...You can go now." Bonnie clarifies slowly, as though talking to a child.

He left, his pride wounded and his boner still in place.

"Thanks," Nova says while fixing her dress, her twin waves her off, they've done this for each other since they discovered, or rediscovered on her part, hormones; whenever they don't like the male, or female, pursuing them, the other will get them away as quickly as possible.

"What did you see?" Nova asks her twin knowingly, while they walk back towards the party.

"Nothing," Bonnie answers, a little too quickly.

"Nothing?" Nova echoed back, eyeing her sister in skepticism.

Bonnie sighs, looking around before leaning in, whispering, "I was with Elena, I just teasing her, I didn't think I'd actually get something. but then I touched her hand and got this really bad feeling before I saw.." Bonnie trailed off, her eyes distant as though reliving it again.

"Saw what?"

"A man, I didn't see his face, and then I saw a crow."

"That's nothing to worry about." Nova tries for reassuring but must fail when her twin sends her a glare. "You know that crows are bad omens, Nova," Bonnie whispers harshly.

Nova rolls her eyes, holding her hands up in a 'my bad' manner. "Okay, okay, Bon-Bon I know it seems bad, but we got all the leverage we need this morning, and crows are bad omens, yes, but they don't always mean death, you know that," Nova whispered, her sister just sighs. "Have you seen anything lately, that you can tell me?" Bonnie asks.

"Things are going to start to get ugly, real soon." Nova predicts accurately because the next moment they can hear a familiar voice yell. The twins share a look before running back towards the party.

"It's her neck, something bit her, she's losing a lot of blood." Elena says staring at the bite wound in confusion.

"Here, let me," Nova said calmly taking over, leaning next to Vicki while snatching a towel from some freshmen kid who hadn't been invited. She eyed the wound and after making sure the towel is clean, she put pressure on the wound while trying to keep the older girl awake. "Donovan, keep your eyes fucking open." Nova demands patting the other's girl's face lightly, but her eyes roll back as she faints, causing Matt to panic.

"Vicki, come on, open your eyes, look at me, Vicki!" Matt yelled, panicking when his sister doesn't answer.

"She'll be fine," Elena reassures her ex. "The ambulance is here."

Nova lets the paramedics take over at that point, sighing as she went over to Bonnie. "Mystic Grill?" Nova asked her sister, her eyes on the ambulance leaving, her twin just nods her eyes worriedly taking in the scene.

"You said we needed to get involved, to keep our friends safe, how are we going to do that?" Bonnie questioned quietly, "I've got a plan, I'll tell you if it works out." Nova replied and before Bonnie could question her on this mysterious 'plan' of hers, Elena soon joins them, giving them both hugs.

"We're going to go to Mystic Grill, wait for news," Bonnie says, her eyes questioning Elena.

"I called Aunt Jenna, I've got to make sure Jeremy actually goes home," Elena responded to the silent question.

"Elena, I want you to be careful.." Bonnie says, her hand squeezing her twin's hand in a tight grip. "We just have this feeling..." Nova trailed off, her eyes focused on her friends face, the doppelgänger, practically Helen of Troy in the flesh. "Guys, what is it?" Elena questions, her eyes flickering to both of them worriedly.

"That this is just the beginning." They spoke at the same time, only this time no one laughed or rolled their eyes, it just sent a chill down the girls' spines.

* * *

 

 

They currently all have coffee mugs in hand. Caroline is still absolutely drunk despite the fact she had two cups already, and Bonnie is slowly becoming sober, Nova having known what was going to happen at the party hadn't had any alcohol.

"Are you sober yet?" Bonnie asked her blonde friend, sipping on her coffee. "...No," Caroline replies, practically moping.

"Keep drinking, we've got to get home," Bonnie says while shoving more coffee at the drunk blonde, who ignores the coffee to rant. "Why didn't he go for me, you know, how come the guys that I want never want me?" Nova rubs the blonde's back comfortingly while she complains, the blonde's almost non-existent filter always comes off when she's drunk.

Nova nods her head at her twin mouthing 'I got this'; when Caroline is in this mood there's always a fifty percent chance Elena will be insulted. Bonnie silently got up to go to the bathroom, not that Caroline notices. "I'm inappropriate, I always say the wrong thing, and..Elena always says the right thing, she doesn't even try, and he just picks her, and she's always the one that everyone picks, for everything, and I try so hard, and...I'm never the one!" Caroline finishes bitterly, her head dropping to the table with a loud thud.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I'm equally inappropriate, I don't really care when I say the wrong thing, Elena doesn't always say the right thing and definitely has her bitch moments like the rest of us, Stefan's a fucking idiot who has a type, people in this town are small-minded assholes who think they're the shit, and sometimes you try way too hard," Nova said and ignored her friend's glare, before continuing more gently, "You'll find someone who appreciates you, Care."

"Oh yeah, is that one of your prophecies?" Caroline returns slightly bitterly, her head still on the table, but Nova just smiles brightly. "Yup, I know you'll find your prince charming, someone who will appreciate the amazing Caroline I know," Nova announced making Caroline smile somewhat and raise her head off the table, "Even though you are a little crazy." Nova finished, making the grin go away and a glare take its place, which she ignored to shove the coffee in front of the blonde.

"Drink," Nova demanded, grinning when the blonde takes the mug.

"Bitch." Caroline murmured into her mug.

"Slut." Nova shoots back, grin firmly in place, her grin is dimmed at the sight of someone.

Damon Salvatore is currently staring at them.

"Oh my god, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Caroline whispered out the corner of her mouth, neither of them taking their eyes off of the staring vampire, the blonde hitting her friend's arm under the table.

"Yeah," Nova replied, not taking her eyes off of him, stupid fucking Salvatore gene's, she thinks when he smirks at them.

"Isn't he gorgeous?"

Nova's not stupid, she's not, she actually likes to think of herself as highly intelligent, but she likes fucking with people, so she did something stupid. "I've seen better." Nova lied through her teeth, her heartbeat probably betrayed her, but whatever, it made him stop fucking smirking at them.

His intense eyes instead looked right at her, analyzing, his eyes piercing as though he's trying to look into her very soul before he smirked again; challenge accepted it practically said.

She takes it back, she's fucking stupid.

Caroline missed the exchange to look at her friend like she's crazy, "Who, who the hell have you seen that's hotter than that?" Caroline asked, making the brunette finally look towards her friend as the blonde waved her hand at the table that the vampire had been sitting at, they both turned their heads towards the table only to find him gone. "Damn, he's gone." Caroline pouted, her head dropping back on the table.

"What'd I miss?" Bonnie asks curiously, an extra coffee in hand, sitting down warily eyeing the sulking blonde. "Caroline accepted she's a crazy, neurotic control freak, and we found new eye candy," Nova added the last part absently while she finished her own mug of coffee, she ignores the glare her blonde friend sent her to continue talking to her twin about said eye candy.

"He's alright on the eyes, but he's a little too old." Nova put the emphasis on the 'old' part so her twin would understand, she did if the widening of her eyes is anything to go by.

"He wasn't that old, besides, I've seen you flirt with older, and less attractive." Caroline dismisses, finishing her coffee.

"Let's get out of here, we need sleep, Matt texted me said Vicki is going to fine." Bonnie says, clearly wanting to get home and interrogate her sister on what happened.

No one argued with that, Nova hasn't properly slept in days, they left after paying for their drinks.

Nova was an odd mix of her body being absolutely exhausted and her mind being completely wired when they finally got home after dropping Caroline home. She stripped down to her panties, took off her sparse makeup before pulling on her PJs.

She's currently sitting on her bed, braiding her hair into two side braids, with Merlin dozing on the left side of her bed when her now pajama clad sister opens to door without knocking and relaxes on the bed next to her.

"It was Damon Salvatore, Grams was right, I was right, where one goes the other one follows," Nova explains, finishing braiding one side before moving to the other.

"What did you do?" Bonnie asks, her eyes not leaving her sister.

Nova turned her eyes to her sister, her eyes so innocent it had to be fake. "What makes you think I did anything?" Nova questions, her voice as 'innocent' as her eyes.

Bonnie just stared her down until she sighed and admitted, "..I might have goaded him, just a little."

"What do you mean you goaded him?!" Bonnie yelled making Merlin raise his head before going back to his nap, her sister's eyes are worried. "Relax, I just insulted him, very minorly." Nova finished braiding her hair before turning her complete attention to her sister.

"Will he try to come after you?" Nova had to think before answering that question. "Maybe not in the way you're thinking.."

Her sister's frown told her to spit it out already.

"He might try to...seduce me?" Nova half-answered, half-questioned. "If he finds out my last name he'll probably leave me alone, probably." She's not so convinced on the last part and neither is Bonnie by the look she shot her.

"Why on earth did you attract his attention?" Bonnie said slightly frustrated, glaring at the sheepish Nova, "I was protecting Caroline, she doesn't need another guy using her." Nova doesn't regret what she did, the attention of a vampire who has his 'switch' flipped isn't something she wanted per-say, but it's the least of her worries.

She can handle a moody love sick vampire, her human friend, her emotionally vulnerable friend, however, can't, not yet anyway.

Bonnie's face softened at the mention of protecting their friend.

"Okay, I'm going to bed, we'll talk about this later," Bonnie tells her sister, leaving no room for any argument, she left the room.

"Well..that went well." Nova announces to her Familiar, who just meows before closing his eyes again; she cut off her light's and went to sleep. She's going to blame her lack of sleep for the stupid shit she did tonight.

Yeah, let's blame the lack of sleep, she should sleep all day and avoid coming out the house for the rest of the day, or maybe a whole decade.

* * *

 

 

She slept in later than usual; meaning she woke up to a cat sitting on her face with it still being early enough to get ready for school.

She used to could sleep half a day away, when Bonnie was in the same room; nowadays she'll wake up in the middle of the night, sweating and her body shaking, a scream halfway up her throat, nightmares; or sometimes she can't fall asleep because her stupid brain won't turn off but she's always had that problem.

Last night was the former, the only thing that kept her from screaming herself awake is the fact that her cat is on her fucking face.

With a sigh she pulls him off and down onto the pillow next to her, she curls her fingers into his fur, her eyes distant as she tried to push her nightmare from her mind. Before regaining her memories, it had been easier, she had slowly forgot her memories only for them to slam their way back into her mind, a hundred times more vivid, she hadn't known how dying felt, it had been more distant, and with her memories so murky, she had been skeptical that she hadn't just dreamed up her old life, but there had been an odd sensation that warned her from writing off her weird feelings as fiction.

Merlin biting her on her fingertips brings her into the present,"Shit, what was that for?" She yelped with a mild glare at the feline, before getting out of the bed.

It's 5:23 AM; which means she only had four, maybe five hours of sleep, fan-fucking-tastic.

She stripped out of her pajamas, pulling on an old white T-shirt she stole from Elena a few years ago, before walking towards her wooden easel. The light coming from her window isn't enough, so she pulls the lamp closest to her next to the easel, grabbing a blank canvas and setting it on the easel, her paint, brushes, and water already set out and cleaned from last time.

She sat on the stool staring at the blank canvas, before painting her soul onto the canvas. Her mind is pleasantly blank as she lets her hands guide her, focusing only on the brush and the paint. Her attention was so focused on the canvas, that she didn't notice the raven on the tree, it's piercing eyes looking through her window.

The sunlight was pouring into her room when she finally stopped.

"Whoa.." An awed voice said, startling her, she turned to look at her twin sister, not saying anything, before looking at her half finished painting. Figures; she painted the Salvatores, in all of their vampiric glory.

"How long have you been up?" Bonnie asks in concern, once she got over the shock of the painting. "Mm..since five," Nova answers, her eyes still on the painting.

"Are you going to be able to go to school?" Bonnie asked, knowing it was nightmares, but not bringing any attention to it, knowing that her twin didn't want to talk about it, she instead plays with her sister's hair.

"I'll be fine, I just need coffee and food, what time is it?" Nova asks, her eyes finally falling from the canvas, towards the shining sun.

"It's seven almost eight, coffee and food are in the kitchen, you should get cleaned up though." Bonnie responds, leaving her sister to get cleaned up after a short hug and one last worried look at the canvas.

"Stupid fucking Salvatores." Nova curses, before leaving the canvas to dry.

Nova watches as the paint that had been clinging to her fingers, arms, went down the drain. Maybe she should try some of Grams home-made herbal teas to help her sleep, she had refused before, not wanting to rely on anything; Visions and normal nightmares plague her when she's sleeping as much as it does when she's awake.

Since The Gilbert's car accident she's been having an even harder time sleeping, and that's saying something considering how little she got before.

She got out quickly after making sure no more paint clung to her before throwing a towel around her she walked to her room, her wet feet sliding somewhat on the hallway wooden floors.

She picked a ruffled black lace off-shoulder blouse with long flared sleeves, a violet and black lace mini skirt, paired with black flats, for jewelry she went with a silver Celtic crescent moon, amethyst stone in the center of the moon, with a small cat nestled into the moon, silver octagon stacked rings, and rhinestone black feathered earrings. She finished the look with eyeliner, glitter on the wings, and blue berry lip balm.

Her hair had flecks of paint in it and was a little damp, so even though she wanted to use her flat iron she just did a messy bun at the top of her head.

Before leaving the room she made sure to take a sip of the liquid vervain she has stored in vials, it's locked with Magic in her wooden bedside table along with her Journal. You can never be too careful, Nova thinks while walking down the stairs towards the kitchen.

"What are you wearing?" Her father's voice startled her, what she thought was Bonnie in the fridge was actually her father, great.

She knows what he's talking about, she usually gets a warning before he comes home, to change into something more 'modest'.

She glared at an apologetic Bonnie, who's behind their father sitting at the table, mouthing 'I didn't know' and 'I'm so sorry'.

"I don't know if you had this back in your day, but it's this new thing called a skirt." Nova snarks when she finally finds her voice.

"Is there more to it up stairs?" He asks with a frown, pulling out the orange juice. "Hahaha, very funny." Nova mockingly laughs before grasping a giant mug, pouring the coffee inside, and mixing in cream and sugar. "I wasn't joking." Rudy replies blandly, his eldest daughter doesn't respond, too consumed with savoring her coffee.

They all sat down to eat, there was toast, sausage, and omelets.

"Where's Grams? I'm assuming she was here because you both can't cook to save your life, or anybody else's." Nova spoke after they all settled down at the kitchen table.

"She left after fixing breakfast, she's expecting us later." Bonnie says, ignoring the part about them not knowing how to cook because it's true, she burns toast on a good day, their father not being any better in only knowing how to make mac-n-cheese and baby formula.

Nova and Grams are the only ones who actually cook in this family.

Nova hums before going back to her food, Grams and their father never can stay in the same room together for long. "I'll be in town for a couple more days, we should do something before I leave." Rudy said after a few moments of silence.

Bonnie and Nova exchange looks before the eldest twin just shrugged her shoulders. "Before you leave..." Bonnie agreed tentatively.

They're out of the door as soon quick as possible after breakfast; they love their father, no matter how distant he remained, but every time he was home, which wasn't often, he would get this look in his eye as he looked at them.

Like he was looking at a ghost; Nova's blaming her 'mother' for that one.

"I'm confused, are you two psychic or clairvoyant?" Caroline asks the twins while putting her books in the open locker, classes had just ended.

"We're technically witches, Grams said some of our ancestors came from Salem." Nova clarifies, leaning on the other side of the locker, Bonnie next to her. They know Caroline's not taking them completely seriously, not yet. Nova had asked Bonnie when they should tell their friends about what they are, but Bonnie had looked hesitant to tell them at all.

Bonnie had been all gung ho about it a couple years ago, but now she's uncertain if she wants them to know about what they are; fear of judgment and being unaccepted clouded her judgment.

They can't put it off much longer though, the things that are going to happen are going to create a domino effect.

"Like Twitches?" Caroline teases grinning at the twins, fixing her hair in her locker mirror. "Something like that." Bonnie agreed with a grin.

"Well feel free to conjure up the name and number of that guy from last night," Caroline said while shutting her locker. "No can do on the number part but... I might have a name." Nova smirks at her shocked blonde friend.

"Well, tell me!" Caroline demanded when the other girl didn't say anything. "I don't know.." Nova teases, looking as though she was contemplating not telling her.

"Oh come on, Nova." Caroline whines, as the three girls walk to the parking lot.

"Okay, okay, his name is.." Nova trails off leaving Caroline in suspense, "Spike." If looks could kill Nova would be six feet under; Bonnie is giggling, Caroline is glaring and Nova looks extremely proud of herself.

"What'd I miss?" Elena questions walking over towards them, as her eyes take in her best friends.

"Nothing," Nova replied innocently, nothing about her is ever innocent though, so her reply just made Elena roll her eyes. "See you guys later." Nova says, rushing towards her car before Caroline decides to strangle her.

 

* * *

 

The twins let themselves into their Grams home, although they had their own rooms at their father's house, this place would always feel more like home. "Girls?" Grams' voice came from the kitchen, they followed the smell of baked goods.

Grams took out what looked like chocolate chip cookies. "Hey Grams, that smells great." Nova gave Grams a kiss on the cheek, before stealing a bite of the cookie dough that's set in a giant bowl on the counter.

"How was school, girls?" Grams questions with a bright smile, putting the cookies on a plate to cool.

"It was school," Bonnie says, as though that explains everything, and it did.

Grams looked at Bonnie immensely amused at her reply, before growing serious as they all sat down at the kitchen table.

"The comet will be passing over the town soon, the last time it passed through, death followed," Grams was in what Nova liked to call 'Professor Mode'. "I heard about the Donovan girl," Grams continued before they could say inquire about, you know, the comet being a harbinger of death.

The twins stiffen in their seats, maybe they had both forgot to call their Grams last night. "You two didn't happen to be at the party where it happened?" Grams' voice was asking but her eyes were knowing. "..We might have, maybe, been there," Nova confirmed hesitantly, both her and Bonnie looked extremely guilty as they sunk in their chairs like children awaiting a scolding.

Grams gives them a look, eyebrow raised before smirking, silently telling them she forgives them. The girls relax before Bonnie broaches the topic they had came to talk about. "What are we going to do, Damon Salvatore is leaving a trail of bodies around town,"

"We keep our head down, and wait for them to either leave town or get caught by the town council." Grams doesn't look like she wanted to talk about this particular conversation.

"What, so we're just going to do nothing!?" Bonnie remarks outraged.

Nova kept silent, "I refuse to let you girl's get caught up in vampire business, it always ends up with someone dead." Grams said, staying calm and firm in the face of Bonnie's anger.

"People are already dead, Grams!" Bonnie shouted before leaving the house in a huff when she see's that the elder Witch isn't going to relent.

There was an awkward silence after the door slammed.

"..Drama queen.." Nova sing songs trying and failing to cut the awkward silence.

Grams gives her a look, it essentially says 'zip your lip'.

"You're not going to yell at me at the injustice of it all before slamming the door?" Grams asks drily, setting down milk and cookies. Bonnie had left, more like stormed out, ten minutes ago.

"No, I understand, I don't like it but I understand, you're just trying to protect us, as your granddaughters and as Bennett witches," Nova says eating the cookie.

"..I sense a but coming." Grams states, finishing her own small plate of chocolate chip cookies. Nova smiles slightly at her Grams; the woman was completely different from her grandmother in her old life, but from the moment the elder Witch had asked to be called Grams, the reincarnated girl had seen her as Grams.

"..But, I don't think Bonnie and I will ever be able to live a life supernatural free," Nova states, holding her Grams hand across the wooden table. "We both know the more powerful the witch is, the more drama they'll get into."

Grams doesn't say anything, her hand just gripped hers tightly, before letting go after a moment. Nova hesitates to bring up what she and Bonnie did, they had been going to tell the elder woman today, but she feels as though it wouldn't be right to tell her without Bonnie here; her Grams is too lost in thought to see the conflict on her face.

Nova wants to share what they found, she does.

Because it's Grams as much as it's the twins; the Grimoire is locked tight in her spell-locked bedside table right next to her Journal, but she wants to protect her Grams as much as her Grams wants to protect them. The spell that killed the elder Witch is written on those pages, it's an irrational fear, showing her Grams the Grimoire will just feel like cementing the elder Witch's fate.

"I better leave, I have a date with three girls and fliers," Nova says after a long stretch of silence, she steals two more cookies, leaving before she blurted out everything she's been keeping inside for years before she left the house she heard her Grams voice.

"I hope that wasn't a euphemism."

Nova snorts, laughing lightly, before shutting the door closed.


	6. So are you coming or what?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things..happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probs my least fav chapter I wrote. ^.^

Caroline slams the fliers down for the comet down in front of the three girls. Nova had drawn the picture of the comet passing over the town square a couple days ago; then all the girls spent almost an hour using the local library's printer before they all gathered at the Grill.

Later they have to pass out the fliers.

She's never going to allow Caroline to talk her into helping with her pet projects ever again; just the thought of trying to say no to a determined Caroline makes her want to burst of laughing.

They split the fliers into four piles, checking them over to make sure they're printed correctly. "I saw Stefan last night." Elena starts talking about everything they talked about, from their favorite novels to the comet that's heading their way.

"Well, we were talking to Grams, and she basically said that the comet is a sign of impending doom, the last time it passed over Mystic Falls a lot of people died; so much blood and carnage, it created a bed of paranormal activity," Bonnie says, after Elena finishes talking, her green eyes are a silent storm; she obviously hasn't cooled down from the argument.

"Yeah, and then you poured Grams another shot and she told you guys about the aliens." Caroline snarked, her bitch mode is real today.

"Bitch," Nova says without any real heat.

"Slut," Caroline shot back without missing a beat, before turning back to the amused Elena, "So then what."

"So then nothing," Elena replied, taking a sip of her water.

"You and Stefan talked all night, there was no sloppy first kiss or touchy feely of any kind?" Caroline was in disbelief.

"Nope, we didn't go there," Elena says firmly, her cheeks slightly red.

"Not even a long lingering hug?" Nova asks, putting in her two cents.

Elena shakes her head, huffing in amusement. "Not even a handshake? I mean, Elena, we are your friends, ok, you are supposed to share the smut." Caroline says looking towards Nova who nods her head a silent 'yes', "What Care said, share the smut, we want the dirty details." Nova teases, obviously trying not to burst out laughing.

Elena rolled her eyes at her friends,"We just talked for hours."

"Okay, what is with the blockage?" Caroline questioned Elena, before continuing, "Just jump his bones already, ok, it's easy, boy likes girl, girl likes boy, sex!"

Nova makes 'bow chicka wow wow' noises, making Bonnie hit her arm, both of them grinning in amusement. "Profound, both of you." Elena replied sarcastically, before waiting a moment and getting up.

"Where are you going?" Bonnie questions, her eyes curious.

"Caroline's right, it is easy, if I sit here long enough, I'll end up talking myself out of it instead of doing what I started the day saying what I was going to do." Elena replied before walking away dramatically.

"Do you think she forgot Bonnie drove her?" Nova said after a beat of silence, before yelping as she's yanked out of her chair and along with the brunette who apparently came back.

"You're driving me," Elena declares more than asks as they walk towards her parked car.

"May I ask why?"

"You're a good buffer if things go wrong,"

"I'm being reduced to relationship buffer, I feel so special." Sarcasm is practically dripping from her tone as they get into her car.

"Just drive."

"Okay, Boss."

 

* * *

 

 

"Hey..you aren't like, jump his bones the moment the door is open?" She asks the other girl as she parked in the driveway, who rolled her eyes before getting out of the vehicle. "I was being serious, as attractive as you both are, I don't want to watch you two going at it!" Nova shouts while rushing to get out the car and towards Elena, who still won't answer her very valid question.

Elena rung the doorbell but after a long moment of waiting, she pushed the unlocked door open, walking in hesitantly, Nova right behind her.

"Breaking and Entering, this is new, for you I mean," Nova remarks, looking around the entryway, Elena ignores her to call out slightly hesitantly, "Stefan... Stefan?"

They look around the boarding house in slight wonder, Elena's probably in awe because of the size and beauty of the home, but Nova is having a moment of déjà vu as she takes in the place that used to be on a television show.

She grew up in Mystic Falls, in this life, it was easier accepting where she was, what she is, and who she's friends with because this place had become her home and these people had become her family; it's still surreal, being here, especially with The Salvatore's coming to town.

A crow flies into the house, surprising her out of her thoughts.

The girl's move closer together sharing a slightly startled look.

They turn back; only to jump again as they see Damon Salvatore standing a little too close to the both of them, just staring at them. What is with these people and fucking staring, Nova thought.

"I...we're sorry for barging in, the door was open.." Elena trailed off when she turned to see the door firmly closed.

"Hey, aren't you that guy that eye fucked both me and Caroline last night?" Nova breaks to slightly awkward silence.

Elena looked between them, her eyes questioning.

Damon's who had been previously staring intensely at Elena looked towards Nova, he smirked charmingly. "I thought you looked familiar, do I get a name to go with the face?"

"Bennett. Nova Bennett." Nova answered, shifting beside Elena. Damon cocked his head as he digested the last name, his eyes lighting up with recognition.

"Nice to meet you, Nova," He said before looking back to Elena, "And you must be Elena, I'm Damon, Stefan's brother." Elena looks shocked at the revelation, while Nova kept her eyes on the vampire, she's not afraid of him, but she isn't stupid enough to let her guard down around him.

"He didn't tell me he had a brother."

"Technically he said, he had no sibling he talks to, it was very sly of him," Nova said purposely keeping herself relaxed. Elena shot her a 'not helping' look that she gets a lot; like once every hour a lot.

Damon smiled at both of them, it didn't really reach his eyes.

"Well, Stefan's not one to brag, please, come, I'm sure Stefan will be along any second." He responded leading them out of the entryway and into the living room with a light hand on both of their backs.

"Wow..this is your living room?" Elena looked around in amazement, Nova, however, was not interested in the living room, she yearned to go look in their library, later, she promised herself.

"Living room, parlor, Sotheby's auction, it's a little kitschy for my taste." He replied still staring it's a little creepy, maybe creepy isn't the word she's looking for; intense, that's a more fitting word.

"I see why my brother's so smitten, it's about time, for a while there I never thought he'd get over the last one, nearly destroyed him," Damon said to Elena; and Nova could practically taste the trouble he's trying to stir up.

Elena turned to the elder Salvatore tilting her head in question. "...The last one?"

"Yeah, Katherine, his girlfriend," He answered as though it was obvious, despite knowing she doesn't anything about Katherine.

"Oh, you two haven't had the awkward exes conversation yet." Damon his face said 'oh, my bad', but Nova knows he's enjoying stirring up the drama.

"Nope," Elena replied slightly awkwardly.

"Well, they've only known each other a few days, been together for less," Nova interrupted, making them turn to her, "I'm sure they'll get all that awkward stuff out of the way, now that you helped move it along." Nova grinned at Damon; okay, so it more like a baring of teeth than a grin, but whatever.

"True, very true, I'm happy to help," He replied with a smirk before turning towards Elena, "He probably didn't want to tell you because he didn't want you to think he was on the rebound, we all know how those relationships end."

"You say it like every relationship is doomed to end," Elena returned with a frown.

"I'm a fatalist," He responded, before cocking his head towards the door, "Hello, Stefan," Damon greeted his brother without turning, the girl's turn their heads towards where Stefan is standing, looking at Damon as though he was going to eat them.

Which was a very high possibility.

"Elena, Nova, I didn't know you two were coming over." Stefan doesn't take his eyes off his brother. Elena smiled slightly at Stefan moving closer to the younger Salvatore, as she replied, "I know, I should have called, I just…" She trailed off, looking at Nova for help.

"It was spur of the moment thing, we're sorry if we're bothering you." Nova finished for the other girl moving closer to Elena.

Damon waved them off, moving closer to them, it was a subtle threat that Stefan didn't miss if the glare that Stefan shot the raven haired vampire was anything to go by, "Oh, don't be silly, you're both welcome anytime." Damon said to the both of them before turning back to his brother, his eyes teasing. "Aren't they, Stefan?"

Damon continued not deterred when Stefan doesn't reply, "You know, I should break out the family photo albums or some home movies, but...I have to warn you, he wasn't always such a looker."

Nova tried not to giggle at that, she failed and turned it into an awkward cough when everyone- but Stefan, who's still glaring at Damon- stared at her.

"Thank you for stopping by, it was nice to see you both." Stefan practically kicks them out, Elena looked towards him, clearly taken back, but also ready to get the hell of dodge.

"Yeah, we should probably go, it was nice to meet you, Damon," Elena said, looking between the two brothers awkwardly. "It was nice to officially meet you, Damon, super awkward but nice," Nova added with a grin.

"Great meeting you both, really," Damon replied, ignoring Stefan's stare as he shook both of their hands with a small peck on the back of their hands. Such a gentlemen, Nova thought dryly while he shook her hand.

Nova and Elena walk towards the door, Stefan, however, is blocking the door, not breaking the glare he's sending his brother.

"Stefan?" Elena urges when he won't move. "We'd like to leave you two to finish your pissing match, the testosterone is slowly killing us," Nova said slowly to Stefan when he doesn't move, Elena shot her an exasperated look and she can practically feel the eldest Salvatore's amusement gaze.

She also doesn't care, because it made the brick wall named Stefan move.

The girls got the hell out of there and didn't speak until they got in the car. "What the hell was that?" Elena asked rhetorically.

Nova kept her eyes on the road, driving towards the Gilbert residence. "That was raging family issues, a mix of mommy issues, a whole lot of daddy issues and then the estranged brother issues, they both just look like they have a lot of issues," Nova replies truthfully to the perplexed Elena.

Elena shook her head with a frown,"Why didn't he tell me he had a brother?"

"Because you've only known him for two days, Lena," Nova replied, slightly exasperated. She get's people can fall in love in less time than that, but you can't expect a person to tell them their life story within a span of thirty-four hours. "People are like onions, you think that's the last layer but there's always another one."

"Onions really?" Elena huffed with a roll of her eyes, grinning slightly.

"Yup." Nova popped the 'p' with a wide grin.

"But you have to admit, he was hiding that he had a brother," Elena asked after a moment. Nova nods at that, humming, drumming her fingers on the wheel, "Yes, well, he probably didn't want you to meet the guy."

"It did look like that, didn't it? what do you think happened to make Stefan so..." Elena trailed off, struggling to find the words.

"Constipated?" Nova supplied helpfully, or at least she thought so, Elena's mild glare says that it was the opposite of helpful.

"Okay, how about tense?" Elena hummed in agreement. Nova shrugged, "Something obviously tore them apart, or maybe they never really got along, I don't know." Nova partially lied as Elena nodded in agreement.

After a moment of silence before her eyes curiously eyed her friend. "What?" Nova asked her eyes on the road, but she can see Elena looking at her from the of her eye.

"Eye-fucker?" Elena repeated in askance.

"Oh...that, well, the night Donovan got bitten, when Caroline, Bonnie and I went to get coffee, Care and I saw Damon there," Nova answered the question before parking on The Gilbert's street.

"And the eye-fucking part?" Elena questioned grinning slightly amused.

"Both Salvatore's are..intense, you have to admit that," Elena nodded in agreement, "He stared at us, and we stared back, therefore he eye-fucked us," Nova shrugged it off before continuing,"Do you want me to drive you to the town square?"

"No, but thanks for the offer, I think I'm just going to walk," Elena replied she's probably had enough of cars for today.

"Kay, see you tonight," Nova replied with a soft smile.

"See you tonight, thanks for driving me, Nova." Elena smiled at her friend before leaving the car.

"Not like I had much of choice." She mumbled in the empty vehicle. She waited until Elena got in the house safely before driving away towards home, the girls have to pass out fliers for the comet later, but she has enough time to relax before she has to pick up Caroline.

 

 

* * *

 

The first thing she did once she got home was kick off her shoes, the second thing she did was feed Merlin, the third was turn the TV on and grab a bowl of ice cream and collapse on the couch next to her cat.

She's halfway finished with 'Iron Man' and her bowl of ice cream when she can hear the front door opening, she petted Merlin feeding him the rest of the ice cream that melted because she got distracted by the awesomeness that's Tony Stark.

"If that's someone coming to kill me, could you wait for another hour, Iron Man's about to blow up some shit, I can't miss this, I promise you can kill me later." She said absently, not really concerned because she knows who it is, her eyes still on the TV.

Bonnie snorted in amusement before sitting next to her sister and laying her head on her sister's shoulder. "What if I had been a serial killer?" Bonnie asked in amusement as they both watched the movie.

"Then you'd be knocked out by my kick ass magical powers."

"And if that didn't work?"

"..I'd be dead."

"That's comforting."

Nova didn't respond just watching the movie after a moment of silence Bonnie spoke up, distracting her from the movie, "What happened at the Boarding house?"

Nova shrugged pulling Merlin away from the licked clean bowl with a sigh, "Stefan was short with us, I can't entirely blame him, considering his brother was there," She replied shocking Bonnie slightly, who shifted her head off Nova's shoulder before turning towards her sister. "Did he do anything?"

"You mean like try to eat us in the not so pleasant manner?" Nova asked rhetorically, slightly amused when Bonnie hit her lightly on the arm."No, he just subtly taunted Stefan with the fact he was near his beloved Elena for longer than five minutes."

Bonnie sighed in relief as Nova paused the movie before turning towards her sister, "You okay?" Nova asked softly.

Bonnie nodded her head in confirmation, "I'm fine, just on edge, I'm scared, yes, but I'm more frustrated with this waiting game, I hate doing nothing."

Their quiet for a moment as Bonnie calms down from her minor freak out, "We should go, Caroline will kill us if we're late." Bonnie said with a sigh.

"We should put a sign on her that says; beware, dangerous control freak lurking in distance," Nova joked after slipping on her shoes and walking out the home with Bonnie; she's still slightly worried about Merlin being home alone, in her old life the only reason she left the house was to go to her part-time job, and their father still hasn't gotten the cat flap installed.

Bonnie laughed at her joke hopping into her car, "I'll see you at the town square, Nova."

Nova waved before unlocking her car door and after checking her face in the mirror to make sure she doesn't have any ice cream on her face, she starts the car and drove towards The Forbes's home.

Parking on their street, she lightly pressing on the car horn, she barely had to wait for less than a minute before Caroline came out the door, two cardboards box in hand, Nova got out the car to pop the trunk.

"Hey!" Caroline greeted once she put the boxes in the trunk.

"Hey, yourself," Nova returned with a grin, before shutting the trunk, they got into the car, the music on low.

Once they were buckled in Caroline continued, "So...are you excited for the comet?" Caroline knows how nerdy her friend is, no matter how 'cool' people think she is; Nova still nerds out over stuff like this.

"Well, duh, it's been one-hundred and forty-five years since it's passed over, comets are basically cosmic snowballs of frozen gases, it's really small compared to the other stuff in space, but it's still probably as big as the town itself, and just think I'll probably be dead by the time the next one passes." Nova rambled excitedly as she pulled off the street, and drove towards the town square.

"Okay, Galileo, don't get too excited, we don't have any time for you to take care of it," Caroline cuts the girl off before she could rant even longer, making Nova huff in amusement, before Caroline continues, "Also, really morbid on the whole you being dead thing." Nova shrugged still smiling.

"So..what happened with the whole Stefan thing, they didn't bang each other while you were still in the room, right?" Caroline questioned after a beat of silence, Caroline apparently having the same thought process as Nova.

"Nothing, he ignored her while glaring at his brother the whole time we were there," Nova replied while parking next to the town square.

They got out the car and walked towards the town square, they could see Bonnie already there, so they started walking towards her. "What do you mean he ignored her, and what brother?" Caroline questioned while they walked.

"I mean he ignored her to glare at Damon Salvatore, the elusive older brother, you might know him as the eye-fucker from the Mystic Grill, after the back to school party," Nova replied, smiling at the shocked Caroline, who had stopped walking before she walked away towards Bonnie.

"Hey, don't leave me like that!" Caroline yelled at Nova's back, using her longer legs to catch up to the fast paced girl. "You're telling me eye-fucker is Stefan's brother, and eye-fucker's last name is Salvatore, why am I not surprised..."Caroline trailed off, as they reached an amused Bonnie.

"Eye-fucker?" Bonnie inquired, her eyes dancing in amusement.

"Damon Salvatore aka the one who eye-fucked both of us at the back to school party." Caroline clarified before turning back to Nova in a 'well continue' manner.

"Damon subtly, not subtly, acted like an asshole towards Stefan, while Stefan was so angry at Damon that he didn't even glance towards us," Nova replied while Elena walked towards them.

Elena looked at them questioningly so Nova clarified, "I was just telling them, about what happened, with The Salvatore's pissing match." Elena nodded, sighing at the reminder.

Caroline shoved fliers at both Nova and Elena, Bonnie already had hers in hand.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, and under normal circumstances, I wouldn't, but let's not talk about boys anymore, let's get to work ladies!" Caroline ordered, before strutting away, the girls shared an amused smile before Nova followed after the blonde.

"Since when does Caroline Forbes not want to talk about boys?" Nova teases as soon as she caught up to the blonde who already started passing out fliers.

Caroline rolled her eyes as she passed a flier to a passerby, "Since we had work to do, now pass out the fliers, Nova," Caroline reminded her, before raising her voice,"Tonight's the night of the comet, won't be around for another hundred years, would you like a program!?"

"Actually it's one hundred and forty-five years." Nova corrects absently while passing out a flier.

"Just pass the freaking fliers out."

"Yes, ma'am."

Twenty-minutes later Nova and Caroline had passed out all of their fliers, that's when she felt eyes watching her. Nova tilted her head slightly, eyes flickering over each person, till they met a certain blue-eyed vampire, she stared right back until Caroline nudged her.

"I'm going to go get the candles." The blonde says and left when Nova hesitantly handing her the keys, when she turned back he was gone.

Everyone in this town is such a fucking drama queen; including herself, Nova thought while rolling her eyes at the dramatics of Damon Salvatore.

The four girls met up in the middle and then they all handed out the candles. Caroline lit the first candle, before she lit someone else's, slowly everyone moved through the slightly crowded square lighting each other's candles until everyone's was holding a lit candle.

She could see Elena and Stefan talking before the girl storms off.

"Drama.." Caroline singsonged next to her, seeing the same thing Nova saw. Nova hummed in agreement, after a couple more minutes everyone blew out the candles, the high schoolers went towards the Mystic Grill, whilst the older crowd hung out around the town square or left.

They had just finished eating and were on their second order of soda's when Jeremy ran up to their booth with a worried expression on his face.

"Hey, has anyone seen Vicki?" Jeremy questioned the group of teenagers.

"You're her stalker, you tell us." Tyler retorted.

"I can't find her," Jeremy said worriedly, for once, ignoring the asshole.

But Tyler is apparently on a massive asshole roll and retorts with a, "She probably found somebody else to party with, sorry, pill pusher, I guess you've been replaced."

"Shut up, you fucking idiot," Nova said to Tyler, throwing her straw at him.

"Whoa, what's with the pill pusher?" Elena questioned, looking between Tyler and Jeremy before turning her brown eyes on Nova, who put her hands up in the don't shoot manner.

"Don't look at me, I'm staying firmly out of this drama."

Elena turned back to Tyler with a question in her eyes.

"Ask him," Tyler responded, looking at Jeremy with a smug look.

"You wanna do this right now?" Jeremy asked Tyler with a glare, while everyone else watched on.

"Are you dealing?" Elena interrupted the third pissing match Nova's seen in two days, the boys in this town are on a testosterone roll.

"She's never gonna go for you," Tyler taunted to Jeremy, confident, like the fucking idiot he is; and didn't Nova tell the asshole to shut up.

"She already did, over and over and over again," Jeremy shot back. Nova, Matt, and Elena grimace, mentally in pain from that image.

"You slept with Vicki Donovan?" Caroline looked shocked and a little amused before her eyes flickered to a slightly insulted Matt so she continued hurriedly, "I mean, Vicki Donovan slept with you?"

"There's no way." Tyler scoffed, his eyes disbelieving.

"And I didn't even have to force her into it." Jeremy retorted. "What the hell is he talking about, Ty?" Matt demanded to know, struggling not to punch Tyler without questioning him first.

Nova stared at Tyler with a vacant stare; if he did force himself on Vicki Donovan she'll have to castrate him. She might not like Vicki, at all, but forcing yourself on anyone, male or female, is just a huge fuck no in her book.

"Nothing, man, just ignore him, he's a punk," Tyler reassured his best friend, trying to ignore Nova's eerie glare. "You know what, how about all of you shut up and help me find my sister?" Matt got up, tired of everyone's fucking drama.

"We'll check the back," Bonnie said instantly, grabbing Caroline and Nova before getting the hell out of there.

They checked everywhere; Bonnie looked like she was going to try looking for the girl with magic but Nova did the whole talking without talking thing to tell her it wasn't needed at this moment.

 

* * *

 

 

They searched half heartedly for about thirty-minutes before heading back inside the Mystic Grill; Vicki had been found by then, so they sat at a table to rest.

"Ugh, it's just so much drama, ever notice how the druggies are the biggest attention whores?" Caroline sighed, while Nova nodded in agreement, whilst thinking that this current drama is going to look like a Black Friday compared to stuff that's coming.

"Yeah." Bonnie agreed, before looking up at an approaching Stefan.

"Excuse me, Hi." Stefan greeted with a small smile, making the girls smile, all three of them turning into goo.

"Hi.." The three girls echoed, trying to refrain from sighing out loud.

"Um, have you guys seen Elena?" Stefan asked the girls.

His eyes are so pretty, she should paint them later, Nova thought absently.

"I think she went home," Bonnie answered, breaking the other two girls out of their daze. When he looked like he was going to leave, his shoulder slumped in disappointment, Bonnie continued, taking pity on him despite the fact she's still wary. "I'm gonna give you Elena's cell number and her email, she is big on texting, and you can tell her...I said so." Bonnie said while writing Elena's cell number on a napkin before she handed it to him with a smile.

"Thank you," Stefan says gratefully, taking the napkin.

Bonnie has a minor psychic moment when their hands touched, her stare blanking out for a moment.

"You ok?" Stefan questioned, eyeing the Bennett in concern. "I'm fine, sorry." Bonnie lied with a strained smile.

"I'm fine, sorry." Bonnie lied with a strained smile.

Nova grabbed her twin's hand under the table, squeezing it reassuringly, knowing that despite the fact that 'the touch of death' doesn't bother her it might bother Bonnie.

"Yeah, they both kind of wig out, it's like their thing." Caroline tells Stefan in a slightly gossiping voice.

Stefan left a little while after that, probably to brood about the pros and cons of texting Elena.

Bonnie shortly left after Stefan did, to go makeup with Grams, and soon after that Nova drove Caroline home, making sure the blonde got in her house safely before driving home herself.

She's currently feeling very angsty, things have changed, Damon didn't go after her blonde friend, and that's a good thing, but now she doesn't know if he's currently feeding on some poor soul or stalking her instead of Caroline.

Or what if he's at Caroline's house right now and she was stupid enough to think he'd just stay away because she drew his attention to her instead, he could be hurting her right about now and she'd never know until it was too late and seven hells is she stupid how-

Nova slammed her car door, lost in thought, she startled slightly, seeing the elder Salvatore behind her when she turned around, before forcing herself to relax against her car door.

"...Vampire."

"Witch."

Nova folded her arms, looking completely at ease despite the fact she's running a list of pain inflicting spells in her head. "Any reason you're stalking me?"

Damon smirked charmingly, which would have normally made her a pile of goo if it wasn't for the fact if she let her guard down he could get a chance to snap her neck if he decides he doesn't find her amusing anymore. "What? I can't check in with the town's local Glinda the Good Witch?" Damon asked holding his hand to his chest, mockingly offended, when he see's his charm isn't affecting her, he closed the small distance between them.

"I'd prefer to be a Willow Rosenburg or a Hermione Granger, thank you very much," Nova replied keeping her eyes on the still smirking vampire that's curiously eyeing her. "Let's cut to the chase, you want something, what is it?"

"What, you're not going to try any witchy woo woo and warn me away from hurting your loved ones?" Damon questioned snarkily, with a raised eyebrow.

"I could.. if that's what you're into, but I think it's pretty obvious that I don't want you to hurt anyone I love," Nova snarked right back.

"You are either very stupid or very naive for not being afraid of someone who could kill you without blinking." Damon eyed her curiously while tilting his head in a way reminiscent to a raven, listening to her calm heartbeat.

"I'm neither, but if you ask my friends they'll tell you I'm a little crazy," Nova responded with mild humor before getting close enough to him to slowly slide away from him.

She started walking backwards towards the backyard, never taking her eyes off him. "And where are you going?" He asked turning towards her.

"Me?" Nova points to herself, leaning on the closed white picket fence that leads to the backyard. "I'm going to watch the comet I've been waiting to see for a while, and you," She pointed at the vampire, "You're going to join and tell me what you want."

"And why on earth would I do that?" Damon chuckled and despite the fact she knows this could get ugly fast, the sound of it sent pleasant shivers down her spine.

"Because if I'm going to help you, I need to know what I'm doing," Nova states, waiting for him to join her, she swears if she misses the comet because of this fucker she's going to be pissed.

Damon eyed her suspiciously, still not moving, why is he not moving, Nova thought impatiently. "You'd help me, just like that?" Damon questioned disbelievingly, apparently not believing her.

"Well...I would need compensation, and if I'm helping you, you can't kill or hurt the people I care about, but other than that, why not?" Nova shrugged, shifting impatiently.

She doesn't really mind, it's not going to hurt anyone getting him into the tomb, this time at least; it'd get more people hurt ignoring him. Nova reckons she can't have a vampire with his 'switch flipped' running around, and him finding out Katherine's more of a bitch then he realized will make him face the emotions he abandoned.

Nova's not completely sold on the emotion 'switch', it honestly sounds like what she does when she can't handle the world, only on a slightly larger scale; and Supernatural Beings seem to just do everything on a larger scale.

"So are you coming or what?" She opened the black iron gate, slipping into the backyard without waiting for his reply.

Her father either must be asleep or left for work again because the house lights are off. She got a text from Bonnie earlier about staying with Grams for the night, she's happy that they made up; they probably won't be too happy with her when they hear about what she's doing.

But she made a promise to herself to help everyone who she can; even the ones who seem like they don't deserve help.

Nova pulled her hair from her top bun, slipped her shoes off and laid back in the green grass, looking up at the starry skies; waiting for the comet and for Damon.


	7. Name your price

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two deals are made.
> 
> And Nova is enjoying the irony of her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You are all caught up on current chapters, I'll be posting chapter eight, soon, probably, I have to edit it out a lot but whatever, I've been sick with the flu for a week now and I'm just now getting over it so it took me a while to write said chapter.

She's sprawled out on the grass, her head tilted up to the night sky, waiting for the elusive comet when she can feel someone lay next to her, invading her space slightly, probably to make her feel uncomfortable.

Honestly, it just made her want to cuddle; she hasn't had a good cuddle in at least two days, the shame.

"Did you see the comet the last time it appeared?" Nova asked curiously, looking at the vampire from the corner of her eye.

"I was a little busy back then." Damon replied nonchalantly.

She's pretty sure he's talking about the fact he and his brother were killed by his father while trying to help a captured Katherine, oops, she forgot. Cue internal cringe.

Before she could say anything more stupid; the comet appeared.

The half-moon is beautiful, she could see more stars than she could see in the city in her old life, and when the comet passes, it's a picture perfect moment; there's an undeniable rush of power that washes over her when it passes, her fingers dig into earth as she relishes in the Magic that she can feel in the air, it hums all around her, she feels drunk on it, she hummed in content.

But Damon being, well, Damon, had to ruin her buzz. "...That's it, that's what everyone in this pathetic town has been yapping none stop about?" Damon complained from the right side of her.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Don't kill him, cannot kill him, it'd also be ill advised to punch his stupidly attractive face. "I don't know about other people, but I wanted to see it because I'm a witch, these kinds of events are a big thing in our community, and then I'm a little bit of an astrology nerd," Nova explained after she calmed down.

"So, are you going to tell me what you need a witch for?" She asked before he could respond, not moving from her spot, not even when he leaned on his elbows on each side her, his body caging her in.

She kept her eyes on his blue eyes, the only thing that keeps her from tensing is the fact she can feel her Magic waiting to be called on; and the tentative fact she knows her won't kill her.

He made a promise to protect Emily's line and in return, she'd save Katherine and so far he's kept it, despite the mild threats he's made. He has no idea Katherine's not in the tomb and there's the fact he needs her to even open the damn thing and if he kills her, no Witch left in town would help him, they'd be more likely to kill him.

"Name your price," Damon whispered his face centimeters apart from her own. "I only want three things from you," Nova replied with a small smile before continuing when he tilted his head, silently telling her to continue.

"One, don't touch anyone I care about, that includes not being caught in the crossfire of any pissing match you and your brother might have, two, I want to get paid, in cash at the end of this," She ticked off, he didn't show much outward response to the things she listed, just a small twitch of the lips at the second thing.

"And the third thing?" He murmured against her lips, his eyes not leaving hers.

Nova despite nothing more than to hide in her room for the rest of her life, remained calm. She sometimes surprises herself with how calm she's been taking things.

"I'm a Seer," She confessed tentatively to an impassive Damon, "What that means is that sometimes I'll see things, past, present, future, sometimes I'll have a Vision that I cannot share with anyone, it's one of the many downfalls of being a Servant to Nature, but one day I might tell you something, something that hasn't happened yet but will, you don't have to take my advice, but at least listen to what I have to say before you act."

Nova is taking a calculated risk telling him this, it could go either way; he could threaten to kill her if she didn't spill everything she knew, he could take her knowledge as a threat and snap her neck.

She's willing to take the risk because her being a Seer, it isn't something she can hide, at least not for long.

She can hide the fact she has knowledge beyond her Seer abilities, that's easier considering not a lot of people are aware of Supernatural Beings, let alone other universes that show you other universes as a television show of all things.

But hiding this from Damon would only make their tentative relationship sour when he found out, and he would find out, secrets never stay that way for long, and when he found out he'd never trust her again.

That's what she want's out of all of this, his trust.

In the show, Damon was the one who did most of the dirty work that no one wanted to do, but that had to be done. Bonnie had been right behind him, making decisions that no teenage girl should have to make.

She has no control over what Bonnie does and doesn't, but she can help lessen the burden.

Having Damon on her side and working with her, trusting her, will help her immensely when everything begins to heat up.

Opening the tomb is what sets off everything and she can't stop that without dire consequences.

"Why on earth would I trust anything that comes out of that pretty mouth of yours?" Damon questioned still caging her in, his eyes flashing dangerously.

Despite the fact he's trying to intimidate her, maybe even contemplating killing her, what he said just made her smile slightly dreamily, which confused him even more than he was before.

"You think my mouth is pretty?" Nova replied genuinely flattered. "You don't have to trust me, just like I don't trust you not to hurt anyone I love, that's why we're going make a deal sealed by magic." She said before he could respond to her minor fan girl moment.

Damon raised a brow, which made her flush slightly, no one should look that good just raising a fucking eyebrow. "And how do I know you're not going to try to trick me with this so call deal sealed by magic?" Damon questioned while his hand moved over her bare thigh, moving lightly over her rib cage under her blouse before settling firmly on the back of her neck.

His grip isn't suffocating, but it's still firm in warning that if he doesn't like what she has to say he'll snap her neck; the move is as threatening as it is seductive.

Nova kept still as she could, but shifted her feet slightly, what, they fell asleep. "I can't, it's not possible, once the deal is sealed by magic neither of us can betray the terms, we'll both die if we do," She eyes his tense hand slightly warily but continued calmly.

"There's a reason why not a lot of people mess with this type of magic, for one it can't be broken without both of our consent, I call on my magic to make the deal, but it's not my magic sealing the deal, Nature does that, therefore it'll be Nature's punishment if we go out the guidelines of the deal." She explained she could tell Damon is listening to her heartbeat to see if she's lying, her heartbeat is calm.

Nova herself is not sure how she's remaining calm, maybe she's less sane than she thought, which hadn't been much in the first place.

"...So, are you going to tell me what you want or are we just going to lay here?" Nova asked after a moment; she's fine with either, as long as he doesn't try to kill her.

Try, being the key word, she might not be able to take an Original Vampire on but she could easily take down someone as young as the Salvatores.

"You've got yourself a deal, but-" Damon's eyes grew stormy and his grip got slightly tighter, the hold strong enough to make her grimace in slight discomfort. "If this is a trick or some plan to kill me, I'll drain every ounce of blood in your body, witchy deal be damned."

Nova gasped slightly as he let go, rubbing her neck, she started grinning as she processed his words.

"Kinky," Nova responded winking at the bewildered vampire, still grinning at the death threat.

She has more than a couple loose screws, always had to be honest; her dying and coming back in another universe probably didn't help things. His threat didn't concern her, her nightmares scare her more than her does to be brutally honest.

Nova pushed him off her, she know's she doesn't have the physical strength to do it, so she doesn't even try to put any muscle into the shove. Damon, with a raised brow, got off of her and sat cross legged in front of her as she sat up on her knees, she internally cursed her choice to wear a mini skirt.

She silently waited for him to tell her why he needs a Witch;

she knows that he wants inside the tomb, but it'd be better if he was the one to verbalize that and not her.

He takes a moment, clearly thinking about how much he wanted to tell her, before he spoke up, his eyes unwavering on her.

"There's a tomb, and I need a witch to get into it,"

He doesn't elaborate on it, making her continue to stare at him silently.

Damon huffed with a tense jaw, probably wondering why he agreed to do this. "Before I was turned, I asked a witch, your ancestor, in fact, to protect someone who was in danger and in return I'd protect her lineage," He confesses reluctantly, eyeing her lack of reaction before resuming. "There's a tomb...and the person who's blood turned me has been inside the tomb since I was turned, I need a witch to open said tomb."

Nova nodded, she's not surprised he left out so much, she's actually more surprised he actually told her that much.

He cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably, he clearly didn't like feeling even a little bit of vulnerable, in front of anyone; so she's not surprised when he pulled his mask back on, visibly rebuilding his emotional walls, soon his faint smirk fell back in place.

"So how are we doing this, do you need a lamb to sacrifice, or do you prefer using rabbit?" He said with a smirk.

Nova is starting to see why people always roll their eyes at her when she's being a smart ass, she manages to control herself from doing the same by holding out her hands.

"We basically hold hands while I sing kumbaya," Nova said to the vampire, he took her hands with an amused snort.

"First, we say the terms we each agree too, like me opening the tomb for you, you not killing or harming anyone I love, and then I..chant some very vague stuff in Latin." She explained, properly this time.

"Ready?"

"Whenever you are, Willow."

This deal is part one of her 'grand' plan; Nova had found the spell in one of her ancestor's Grimoire, it's archaic and hasn't been used much in the Supernatural community since the early 1600's.

She tweaked it enough to make it less binding, instead of a one sided oath, it's more of a deal that can only be broken by mutual agreement. She should be using their blood as a binding agent but she has vervain in her system, it wouldn't be a good mix with his vampire blood, it could make the spell a dud and dealing with a spell gone wrong is the last thing she needs on her plate.

She'll have to give more magic to invoke the deal before leaving the rest to Nature. Nova's lucky she can still feel the lingering Magic of the comet that's still in the sky.

"I, Nova Amelia Bennett, swear on my life, that I will help Damon Salvatore open the tomb he desires to open and not kill him while our deal is still valid."

He probably wasn't expecting her to add the whole not killing him, he didn't ask for it, but she feels like it was only the polite thing to do.

"I, Damon Salvatore, swear on my undead life, I will not kill or harm Nova Amelia Bennett or anyone she cares for while our deal is still valid."

With that having been said; she closed her eyes and ignoring his stare, she focuses on the Magic within her and started to chant;

 _"Invoco genetrix Natura_ ,"

The wind turned sharper as she called on Nature, the air is thick with Magic making the vampire shift uneasily, their hands still joined. " _Adiuro nostris sermonibus ea cum animabus nostris, et me solum facere multum a rumpitur pactum_."

Magic is in the air and not all of it is hers, it grabbed hold of them both, as though it was touching their very soul, making them both shift in slight discomfort, before it receded as quickly as it arrived.

The spell was successful, she could tell, but it took a lot out of her, maybe she shouldn't have put so much Magic into it.

Maybe it was the fact this was her first real big spell or the fact she tweaked the spell too little or maybe too much.

It was most definitely the fact she didn't use their blood as a binding agent on a spell that hadn't been done in centuries.

Either way, she fainted after the spell had been finished, something cushioning her before her head hit the earth.

Well fuck, she thought before her eyes rolled back.

* * *

 

 

Sunlight hit her face, annoying her as she was having a really nice dream for the first time in months, maybe even years. Something tickled her nose, her nose twitched, she turned over on her bed holding her pillow tight.

But she only has one window in her room and that's not very close to her bed, and when was the last time her bed was so firm and smelled like men's cologne, Nova thought in confusion.

Her mind overriding even when she's attempting to go back to sleep.

She doesn't remember even going to bed, in fact, the last thing she remembers is doing a spell with someone, she thinks it was a Salvatore.

Her thoughts froze as something poked her cheek, a finger, while her pillow talked. "I know you're awake.." Damon singsonged.

"Sh..pillows aren't supposed to talk." She muttered, not opening her eyes, attempting to go back to sleep.

"Well, this pillow is going to throw you off if you don't wake up in ten seconds."

Nova huffed before opening her eyes, Damon's amused eyes are the first thing she meets before she looked around, she's still in her backyard, the sun is shining, so she must have been passed out all night - wait - "Fuck." She cursed before slamming her head on the ground next to Damon's head.

"What, did you forget to feed your cat?" Damon jokes making her startle and get off the vampire she had apparently been using as a pillow all night.

"Double fuck, my poor cat!"

Damon eyed her incredulously, leaning on his elbows. "I was joking, you really have a cat, could you be even more of a cliche, what's next a flying broom?"

Nova ignored that remark to pull a few strands of grass out of her disheveled hair, before turning to the vampire who had been checking out her bare legs. "Can you hear a human's heartbeat in my house?" Nova asked in a slight rush she does not want to walk in the house and find her father there; he'd think she was out all night, and he still harbored the naive delusions of both of his daughters being virgins.

If her sister and Grams had been here she'd know already. Because she'd be grounded for life, Grams is the only adult in town she'll listen to, mainly because she's afraid of her and Nova respects her too much to not listen to the elder Witch.

He looked like he was going to protest at being used as a listening device, but she shot him the look she uses to people that have pissed her off to make him shut up, it worked, surprisingly.

He tilts his head, listening inside the home, after a moment he shook his head. "Nope, no human heartbeat ticking in that house." He replied, eyeing her expression curiously.

Nova's eyes flashed with disappointment for a moment before it went away, she's not surprised her father wasn't there, just disappointed. She hurried to the house's back door, picking up her discarded tote bag and flats on the way.

She feels a rush of air as Damon used his vampire speed to appear behind her, which she ignores to grab the house key out of her tote, she finds it after a few frustrating moments.

As soon she has the door unlocked, she rushes in; the door leads her to the kitchen, and the first thing she sees is her Familiar, sitting by his empty bowl, his jade eyed stare judging her.

She got down on her knees, ignoring the vampire that's leaning in the doorway, kicking the invisible barrier that won't allow him in without being invited.

"Listen, Merlin, sweetie, I am so very sorry, I will never forget about you again, please forgive me." She pleaded with the animal, making the vampire in her doorway snort and roll his eyes at her dramatics.

"It's just a pet, you feed it, you clean it, and then you bury it when they die inevitably of old age," Damon remarked callously, making her shoot him a glare over her shoulder before looking back to her Familiar.

"Don't listen to the mean vampire, Merlin, he doesn't know about our bond." She whispered to the feline, her cat stared for a moment longer before moving away from the bowl, relaxing next to it instead.

Nova sighed in relief and raised off the floor to grab the cat food out of the bottom oak wood cabinet. "Oh, right, you can come in, Damon," Nova says absently while pouring the cat food in one bowl and milk in the other.

Damon entered the home, slightly startled at how easy it was to get invited into the home but trying not to let it show as he shut the back door behind him.

"I'd offer you something to drink but we don't have any blood bags in the house and mine is currently filled with vervain," Nova commented nonchalantly, washing her hands in the kitchen sink, she turned once her hand were dry, slightly startled to see the vampire right behind her, he cornered her into the counter.

"You're not being very judgemental, I thought that was witch thing," He stated with a curious frown.

"No, that's just closed minded people being closed minded, but you do come off as the kind of person that likes making people hate him for shits and giggles," She said with a frown.

"Very true," He nodded in unapologetic agreement, she smiled slightly, he still doesn't move from his position.

"Could you please move? I have a cheerleading practice to go to or a certain blonde will murder me in my sleep." Nova told him with a slightly real fear in her voice, he granted her request with a raised brow.

Nova ran up the stairs to her room, she could hear him following her but paid no mind to it. She rushed into her room and dug in her wardrobe, pulling out her gym clothes and a duffle bag that she started to stuff thing into.

"Whoa, nice place," Damon said eyeing the painted walls, coming into her domain without asking.

"Thanks…" Nova replied absently throwing clothes, shoes, jewelry etc, into the bag.

"Nice painting,"

"Thank-" She started to say before turning to the snooping Vampire who's holding her unfinished portrait of the Vampiric side of The Salvatore brother's, he turned the canvas towards her, holding it up to his face.

"The resemblance is uncanny." He said with a wiggle of his brows while flashing her what she calls 'Vampiric side' and what other's call their true face, their Demonic side.

While he was probably aiming for fear or loathing, it just made her morbid curiosity kick in as she came closer. "...Cool.." She spoke after a long moment of silence before going back to packing her gym bag.

'Cool' Damon mouthed behind her back, his face scrunched in confusion while placing the canvas back on its easel. He remained silent as he snooped through her things until he looked in her closet and found her favorite 'Rolling Stones Tour' tee-shirt.

"Rolling Stones, nice, do you even know who they are?" Damon asked pulling the shirt out of her closet.

She walked over to him and snatched the shirt back with a huff, slightly offended, she takes her music seriously, she isn't going to buy a shirt from a band to look 'cool' or 'in' or whatever the kids are calling it these days.

"Yes, in fact, I do know who they are," She said while hanging the shirt back up and into her closet. Damon, however, was skeptical and it showed on his face, so she continued with a look of mild frustrated.

"My favorite songs by them are Beast of Burden, Brown Sugar, Gimme Shelter and Sympathy for the Devil, not necessarily in that order. Now, can you leave my room so I can change?" He clearly doesn't like her tone, or the fact her question sounded more like an order, but she can't help it, she's grumpy; she hasn't eaten, showered, or had coffee and she's late for cheerleading.

She has time for none of her favorite things to do in the morning.

She's never slept so late in this life, it's sort of odd, but she's just going to blame it on the fact she passed out from Magical exhaustion, which hasn't happened to her before.

Damon doesn't leave the room, doesn't even avert his eyes, probably to piss her off, or embarrass her, it would have worked in her old life; but she lost her shyness of exposing her skin somewhere around the time she had skinny dipped in front of a group of twenty drunk teenagers and all the times she's had to change in front of loudly judgemental cheerleaders in the locker room.

She's slightly frustrated and hasn't coffee, a very bad combo, so she did the reasonable thing and not taking her eyes off him; she started stripping.

Her jewelry was thrown on the nearby vanity, next came her mini skirt, which pooled around her ankles before she kicked it away, her shirt came next which was thrown at the vampire's face, who caught it with a raised brow, still not taking his eyes off her, it wasn't very suggestive, nor was it teasing; it was just her being passive aggressive.

The only reaction she got is a raised brow; until she unhooks her bra, that gets her the startled look she had been aiming for.

He got a good look at her bare breasts while she pulled on her black drawstring shorts and after taking a long while to tie its strings into a bow, she grabbed her sports bra that's hanging on the top of her wardrobe and pulled it over her head.

She pulled her socks and shoes silently before walking up to the still recovering vampire. "Shows over, you're driving me to practice." Nova ordered with a grin before walking out the room, gym bag in hand.

She filled a bottle with some water, grabbed a bottle of Starbucks cold coffee, some chips, and some peppermints from the living rooms candy dish before leaving the house, the living room left opened for Merlin to leave at his leisure.

Once they're both in Damon's car- that had been parked right behind her own, really she can't believe how she didn't fucking notice that- he started driving her towards the high school, by then he had regained his cool. "Why am I driving you, don't you have a car?" Damon questioned, his eyes flickering towards her.

She's currently devouring the small bag of chips and granola bar.

"Because I still feel like shit after doing that spell, I've never fainted doing a spell before and I don't want to die by car crash," Nova explained, slowly, as though talking to a child, making him glare at her. "Eyes on the road, Spike."

"Why did you faint, by the way, you're not a mediocre witch or something are you? Because I'm not paying for someone who's going to faint dead after doing a little spell," Damon asked after he got finished sulking for a moment.

Nova licked her fingers as she finished the Dorito's, shrugging at his question."I don't know, it could have been the fact I didn't have everything I needed for the spell or the fact I tweaked a spell that hasn't been used much in the witch community in centuries." She said mostly to herself before drinking the iced coffee as quickly as possible.

"That wasn't reckless, I feel so comforted by knowing that I could have ended up dropping dead last night because you decided to 'tweak' a spell," Damon replied scornfully, using the quotations at a red light.

That sounded like something she would say, she lets it go to focus on the part where he called her mediocre, "I'm not mediocre, I'm a Bennett witch, we don't do mediocre." Nova responded with a slightly cocky grin.

Damon parked next to the dozen or so of cheerleaders, "Good, hope you have fun." Damon replies insincerely, she just smirks at him. "I'm going to a cheerleading practice where they'll be girls in short shorts and sports bras, and right next to us the football team will be practicing, this is my bisexual heaven," Nova replied making him smirk back.

"I think I might just like you." He said tapping

"I feel so special." Nova shot back.

"Before you go, I just want you to know, this deal? It stays between us, got it?" Damon ordered more than asked.

Nova eyed him for a moment before nodding with a smile, "Got it." She answered and without a goodbye, she left the vehicle, gym bag in hand and her trash left in his car.

Nova just got away with lying to a Vampire; it feels great.

She power walks to the practice that, thankfully, hasn't started yet, her blonde friend is glaring at her as she walks hesitantly towards the impatient blonde.

"Hey, sorry I'm late." Nova apologizes to Caroline, ignoring her sister's questioning gaze. "We'll talk later, for now, get in position," Caroline ordered, her eyes burning with curiosity but the other girl had been fifteen minutes late for practice and never came to school, so she saves the questions for later as Nova hurries over to the other side of Bonnie.

"Alright, now that we're all here," Caroline aims a look at a sheepish Nova, the blonde continued. "Let's start with the double pike herkie hurdler, what do you say? And 5, 6, 7, 8. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8."

Elena struggles to keep up, while the rest of girls move in sync. "Elena, sweetie, why don't you just observe today, Ok?" Caroline told her friend as gently as she could after witnessing Elena flounder at the routine for five more painful minutes.

The tall brunette sighed in relief and slight embarrassment as she took to the sidelines. "Keep going, ok, do it again from the top, and 5, 6, 7, 8. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8."

Caroline works them to the bone, pushing Nova even harder than the rest as revenge for being late.

* * *

 

In the girls gym locker room, her hair in a bun so it won't get wet, all the girls are talking to each other as they shower and change into clothes, the only thing that separates the other shower stalls are the wall dividers so she's not shocked that once she's in the shower, her friends question her with all the skills of an FBI agent but all the subtly of a raging bull.

"What were you doing all night with Damon Salvatore?" Bonnie questions after a moment of silence.

On the other side of Bonnie is Elena and Caroline is in the stall next to Nova, they're all waiting for an answer.

Nova shrugged, using her 3-in-1 shower gel that's on the wall divider. "We hung out last night, I slept in late and didn't feel well, so he gave me a ride to school," Nova responded after lathering the gel on her arms.

"Yeah, but did you give him a ride?" Caroline questioned, a wicked grin on her face.

"Caroline!" Elena and Bonnie exclaimed at the same time, a blush forming on Elena's cheeks. Bonnie's own face is scrunched up in disgust because no matter how many times she's walked in on her sister and her long line of sexual partners, she still doesn't want to hear about it.

Caroline doesn't seem to know what the big deal is as she looks at the other girls in confusion. "What? Like you both don't want the details," Caroline spoke with a roll of her eyes, making Bonnie shake her head.

"Yes, I'm curious, no I don't want details, please, never the details." Bonnie practically begged while Nova laughed at them.

"Nothing happened." She replied to the bickering girls, laughter in her voice as she rinses the suds off.

All the girls turned to look her oddly at her reply, making Nova roll her eyes, huffing in annoyance as she turned, letting the water hit her back. "Just because I like sex doesn't mean I have to have sex with every attractive person I meet."

Caroline looks at her even oddly at that, eyeing her as though she sprouted wings out of her ass. The blonde's wet hand came over the divider to rest her palm on her friend's forehead.

"Are you sick?" Caroline inquired seriously while Nova smacked the hand away with a pout. "I'm fine," Nova replied defensively to the girls.

"So if you two didn't have sex all night, and morning, what the hell did you do?" Caroline asked incredulously, before adding. "And please don't tell me you talked all night long, otherwise I might think something wrong with both Salvatores."

Nova was silent for too long as the girls waited for her to answer when she didn't the blonde gasped and even Elena and Bonnie looked slightly shocked. "We bumped into each other, watched the comet in my backyard, talked for awhile, and then.." Nova trailed off, making the blonde make a 'hurry up' motion with her hand.

"And then I fell asleep on him." Nova finished nonchalantly before turning the shower head off and wrapping the towel she had kept in her gym locker around her before leaving so fast the girls didn't have time to recover.

"What?!" Nova could hear Caroline yell after a moment of shocked silence.

She rummages in her gym bag, her gym locker open, she manages to find the dry shampoo she had stuffed in her bag today, a paddle brush and a comb she had thrown in the bag a while ago.

Sighing in relief she let her hair down and combs it through once before spraying the dry shampoo in her hair.

She's brushing her hair when the sound of flip flops makes her look up to see her friends and twin approaching their own lockers, they all picked the lockers next to each other, the benefits of being friends with the captain of the cheerleading squad.

They all start to slowly get changed silently before Caroline broke the silence. "So are you like in love with him or something?" Caroline asked while swiping deodorant from Nova's locker and after using it she put it back.

The question makes Nova pause as she pulled on her boyshorts. "No...I'm not touching that with a 5-inch pole," Nova replied honestly, before continuing to dress.

"Why? I thought he was your type." Elena asked curiously, pulling on her ridiculously tight jeans.

"He has issues, I wouldn't want to approach said issues without a hazmat suit," Nova responded to the other brunette, pulling her bra on while looking at Elena oddly. "Besides when do I have a type?" She didn't even think she even had a type.

"You have a type, trust me," Bonnie reassures her sister, pulling on her blue jeans. "Really, could you fill me in on this new mystery?" Nova challenged with a quirk of her lips as she pulled on her skirt and blouse.

"You like the sad puppy type, the strays, the misunderstood, the kind of people that others write off as lost causes, but you don't, you never do," Caroline replied to her question, applying lip gloss, compact mirror in hand.

"Huh, I never noticed," Nova answered absently, pulling her sandals on before throwing all of her stuff in her gym bag, all of the girls roll their eyes at her reply.

"That's because you're romantically oblivious," Bonnie said as gently as possible while the girls hurriedly finished dressing.

"Hey, why don't you all come over for dinner tonight, Damon and Stefan could come, we could all get to know them better and maybe Nova could cook?" Elena suggests with a pleading look at the girl in question.

"I'm feeling used, you are using me for my cooking skills," Nova accused mildly, trying and failing to refrain from smiling as they all walked out of the locker room together.

"Maybe, just a little." Elena replied with a grin before pulling out her puppy dog eyes on all three of them as they stopped in the parking lot, "So how about it, dinner, Salvatores?"

"I promise I'll be at your weird orgy dinner, but first, I'm in dire need a curling iron." Caroline caved in first, holding her damp ends and staring at them with a frown. "You can just use mine." Elena offered the blonde, who looked at Elena in slight disbelief.

"..Do you even own a curling iron?" Caroline questioned slowly, making Elena roll her eyes and Nova and Bonnie hold in their laughter.

Well, Bonnie is trying to hold in her laughter, Nova, however, doesn't even try.

Elena half-heartedly threw them a glare, before turning back to the blonde. "Yes, as it so happens, I do own one." Elena replied defensively, Caroline raised her hands in the 'don't shoot' manner.

"Okay, just checking, I'll see you guys there, but Elena I swear if your so called 'curling' iron makes my hair flat as a pancake then I'm never trusting you with my hair again." Caroline said her piece before leaving, walking towards her car.

Elena sighed exasperatedly when Nova kept laughing before looked at Bonnie, who shrugged. "I'm the one driving you home, I have no choice but to be there." Bonnie replied, ignoring her sister, who's still giggling.

Elena turned to Nova, her eyes big and sad, making Nova halt her giggles. She had wanted to decline because all she wanted to do tonight was sleep, eat, read a few books and maybe take care of the itch that hasn't been scratched in a couple of days.

But she caved at the puppy dog eyes her friend gave her, she groaned in frustration, and Elena smiled in triumph, knowing she was caving. "Okay, fine, what do you want me to cook?" Nova sighed dramatically as they walk towards their cars, Caroline having already left in her new car.

"Uhm.. we might have.." Elena trailed off as she thought about the things they had in their fridge before smiling sheepishly as she came up empty, leaning on the passenger side of Bonnie's car.

"Say no more, I'll go to the store, but the rest of you are washing the dishes," Nova warns, like hell is she cooking and cleaning.

"It's a deal." Elena agreed easily, before hopping in the car.

Her words caused Nova to snort at the irony of it, that'd be her second deal in the span of twelve hours, she thought in amusement. "Don't you need a ride?" Bonnie questioned through her open car window when her sister didn't get in the car.

Surprisingly, Damon pulled up in his car just as she was about to reply. "Guess not." Nova shrugged at her sister's questioning stare, honestly, she was as perplexed as her twin is.

She got in on the passenger side of the car, the vampire drove off with one last taunting smirk at the other girls.

"You're going the wrong way head to the grocery store." Was the first thing Nova said as they left the school parking lot, making the vampire raise a brow at the teenager.

"When did I become your chauffeur?" Damon bit out with a slight glare but made a turn towards the store, she shrugged at the question.

"Elena invited you and your brother to a dinner party, along with our best friends. Elena feels like we need to get to know the mysterious new guys in town." Nova replied shifting her duffle bag on the back seat. "I'm also in charge cooking, which I think is a waste considering you and your brother are, you know, undead and all."

"And why the hell would I want to spend time with a bunch of teenage girls and Saint Stefan?" Damon asked with a raised brow.

"Because you get to eat fucking awesome food while tormenting your brother with the fact you've been invited into Elena home." She replied in a 'duh' manner, making him pause for a second before shrugging and with a nod of his head as he parked in the local grocery store parking lot.

"What happened to not wanting to get in between our pissing match as you so eloquently put it?" He asked as she grabbed a stray cart and pushed it as they walked inside the brightly lit grocery store.

"I still don't, but if I'm going to suffer being social on a day when all I want to do is sleep, I figure you and your brother could at least give me entertainment," Nova replied stopping in the pasta aisle; pasta is must have. "Besides my friends would drag me there kicking and screaming either way," She added while grabbing two boxes of lasagna and throwing it in the cart.

"And you have no problems with me being invited inside your best friends home?" He asked skeptically, pushing the cart for her as she walked towards the produce.

"Not really," She replied picking up three tomatoes and two cloves of garlic and carefully putting it in the cart. She carefully picked two bags of spinach, before throwing it in the cart, she turned to the vampire that's leaning on the cart, eyeing her curiously.

"You literally can't do anything to hurt anyone I care about and even if you did find a way, you're not stupid enough to go against two Bennett witches." They stared at each other for a moment after she said this. Before her eyes flickered behind him, her brown eyes brighten up as she walked towards the shelf behind him.

She grabbed the Oreo's, throwing them in the cart as she walked towards the dairy aisle, after a moment she could hear Damon following her.

"Oreo's for dessert?" Damon questioned with a raised brow as she grabbed three different kinds of cheese, pepper jack, parmesan, and ricotta.

She made a mocking face at the question, her hair hiding her facial expression, before turning towards the vampire with a bland smile. "No, those are for me, you guys get to have store bought cake." She replied before dropping the cheese into the cart.

"I can feel the excitement rolling off of you if it pains you so much why the hell are you going?" He asked when they're in another aisle.

Nova shoved two jars of basil tomato sauce at him, he puts throws it in the cart carelessly while she grabs a packet of dried parsley. "I don't have a choice, like I said, besides if I don't go my sister won't want to go," She grabbed some red crushed pepper before they both started moving slowly to the bakery aisle. "And the whole point of this stupid thing is for all of us to get to know you and your brother, so really if anyone's to blame for me not being able to hide in my anti-social hole it's you two."

Damon rolled his eyes at her dramatics as they reached the cakes and pies. "Remind me again why I'm hanging out with you right now?"

"Because you need me to get the Juliet to your Romeo," She snarked without a pause while looking at their dessert options. "Birthday cake, birthday cake, stale crossaint or..whatever the hell this is?" She asked holding an odd looking cake, he walked behind her to look over her shoulder before they both tilted their heads.

"It looks like it might be edible.." She trailed off skeptically before Damon took it out of her hands and threw it down, looking at it with a face of disgust before turning back to Nova. "Yeah, not happening, I'll pick something up at the Mystic Grill, something that doesn't look like it's been poisoned before getting ran over by a car."

She didn't argue at that as he led her away from the baking aisle.

Nova threw a box of garlic bread and three rolls of ground beef in the cart before they moved to the checkout.

"You're paying," She stated as the cashier rang the items up, the sound of the items being scanned slightly annoying her as she has a slight headache. Damon raised a brow at her in an 'Oh, I am?' manner.

"Compensation." She answered to the look, she also might not have enough money on her to pay for the items, but he doesn't need to know that. Damon with a resigned sigh smirked charmingly at the blushing cashier before handing out a fifty-dollar bill.

He has like five twenty's and another fifty in his wallet so she doesn't know why he's acting like it physically pains him to pay.

"So what's your plan? Besides world domination, of course." She asked as he was driving her to the Gilbert residence, she's not asking how he knows where it is, it's probably a vampire thing, predator species and all of that.

"Plan?" Damon repeated questioningly his eyes on the road.

She rolled her eyes at the question, her fingers moving over her phone as she reassures her sister via text that, no, the big bad vampire hasn't eaten her. "Yeah, you know, to get your girlfriend out of the freaky tomb?"

His eyes flicker towards her before moving back towards the road."Why do you think it's a woman?" He asked his voice light yet she looks up at him, sensing the minor tension.

"Isn't it always about a woman?" She replied as he parked in front of The Gilbert's home. "Don't forget to get the cake and maybe a change of wardrobe, you look like you're auditioning for to be a James Bond villain." She said trying to ease the tension and succeeding if the look the slightly amused look he shot her was anything to go by.


	8. Busy little bee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nova corrupts her fellow cheerleaders and Damon kills someone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time writing smut, like ever, I hope I did okay, but if not meh, whatever. I'm just now working on the next chapter so i'll be gone for a lil while.

Nova knocked on The Gilbert's front door, grocery bags in both hands and her gym bag strapped over her shoulder.

Elena opened the door with a relieved look on her face. "Finally, I almost thought you bailed." Elena let her into the house, closing it behind her as they walk towards the kitchen.

"Yeah, like any of you would let me." Nova snorted in amusement before throwing her gym bag on the floor in the living room.

They both moved to the kitchen, and she dropped the grocery bags on the kitchen island where Bonnie was currently sitting.

"What are you going to make?" Bonnie asked eagerly as soon as she put down the items. Nova rolled her eyes with a smile at her sister, "Lasagna and garlic bread."

"Are you sure that's going to be enough? Did you get dessert? Are you going to put meat in it? Because you never know, they could be vegetarians," Elena questioned nonstop, her babbling reminding Nova of Caroline for a split second.

The last question makes Nova chuckle and Bonnie crack a smile her green eyes dancing in amusement.

"What's so funny?" Elena questioned looking between them in confusion.

"Twin inside joke thing," Nova explained vaguely, waving it away and Elena let it go with a hesitant nod.

"To answer your questions, yes, it'll be enough food, and yes I'm going to put meat in it and if they don't like it they can eat the salad, and Damon's getting the dessert," Nova answers all of Elena's questions while pulling out the food with the help of the girls.

"Are you going to tell us what's going on with you and Damon?" Elena asked with an eyebrow wiggle. Bonnie grins at them both while opening the Oreos.

"Don't, don't ever do that ever again...," Nova said slowly, slightly creeped out at how Elena had looked just like Katherine in that moment.

"Are you going to answer the question?" Caroline spoke, startling Nova as the blonde came from behind her.

"I told you guys already, I'm not touching that without life insurance and a shit ton of bubble wrap, we're...friends," Nova answered hesitantly before washing her hands, turning on the burner, pouring water in a big pot and putting it on the burner.

"...I want the dirty details, if I can't have a Salvatore, I'll just have to live vicariously through you two," Caroline declared grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.

"As long as he's good to you, and I don't have to hear any.. dirty details, I don't mind you two being together," Bonnie put in reluctantly, sharing the Oreos with Elena.

"We should start doing double dates after this," Elena said enthusiastically to an unamused Nova.

Nova sighed and resigned herself to the fact that no one would believe her when she says that nothing is going on between her and the eldest Salvatore.

"Would any of you believe me if I said, once again, that I have no plans to sleep or date Damon?" Nova asked with a resigned sigh, pinching salt into the pot before putting the lid on.

"Not really."

"Nope."

"Yeah, right."

They all answered at the same time; Nova sighed with a roll of her eyes as all the girls smile at her.

"Do you even own a lasagna pan?" Nova asked Elena after a long moment of silence as she put a boiling pan next to the big pot of boiling water. "I think we have one- somewhere, I think.." Elena responded hesitantly before pushing the Oreos away, she moved towards the cabinets to look for said pan.

"Really reassuring," Nova said over the sound of pans and pots banging against each other as Elena looked in the cabinets.

"Why don't you just use your 'voodoo' to find it?" Caroline teased, now in the living room, flipping the pages of her magazine.

Nova rolled her eyes opening the jars of tomato sauce and pouring it in the boiling pan before starting to chop the tomatoes and garlic on the wooden chopping board Bonnie had set out for her.

"Voodoo is more of a religion than a form of magic, and finding things, that's more of Bonnie's thing, besides I think it'd be a little overkill to look for a pan with magic, Care," Nova responded, slapping away Bonnie's hand when she reached towards the Oreos again.

She bought those for herself, but now it's almost gone, she knew she should have hidden it as soon as she entered the house. Food hogs, Nova thought, slightly hypocritical, while eyeing her friends.

"I still don't buy the whole 'witch' thing," Elena told the twin, smiling, having partially given up on finding the pan she sat back down next to Bonnie. Nova shot her sister a challenging look, they then have a five-second silent conversation that Nova, of course, won.

Bonnie sighed as she got up from the island stool staring at the cabinets for a moment. "What are you-" Elena started to question Bonnie earning Caroline's attention as she turns around on the sofa curiously.

Before Elena could finish the question Bonnie pulled the lasagna pan out of the bottom cabinet.

There's a moment of stunned silence.

"Okay, so you've been in this kitchen like a thousand times." Elena broke the silence as Bonnie handed her twin sister the pan.

"Yeah, that's it." Bonnie replied unconvincingly before shooting her twin with a look that said; 'I told you, they won't believe us' which Nova replied with a look that said; 'Well if you got over your fear of actually telling them maybe they would'.

Bonnie rolled her eyes before looking over at a still stunned Caroline. "Hey, want me to help you with your hair while Nova cooks?" Bonnie asked the blonde who, blinking out her stunned daze, nodded in agreement.

They went up the stairs to look for the mysterious curling iron that Elena apparently actually owns.

"Need any help?" Elena asked eagerly.

Nova turned towards her slowly and with a bland smile, she nodded. "Yeah, you can heat these up, don't burn them, ok?" Nova responded hesitantly handing her friend the box of frozen garlic bread.

Elena rolled her eyes but silently went to put them in the oven, mumbling the directions softly under her breath. Nova smiled in amusement before going back to preparing dinner.

Almost everyone she knows can barely cook.

Caroline can manage alright but mostly survives off of the Mystic Grill's food, and the rare times Nova cooks dinner for all of her friends. It's a known fact that most of The Gilbert's suck at cooking, they're so bad that their food is infamous for being terrible, Miranda being the exception, she knows that Jeremy only knows how to make two things, sandwiches and pot brownies.

The rest of her friends are pretty much the same and it physically pains her that most of them hadn't ever had a home cooked meal before, so she hosts dinners every now, just her and all of her closest friends, the last one had been right before -

Mrs. and Mr. Gilbert's death.

"Are you okay?" Elena questioned pulling her out of her daze, she smiled nodding.

"Yeah, just thinking that it's been awhile since we've had dinner together," Nova answered truthfully finishing cutting the garlic and tomatoes up before adding it to the basil tomato sauce heating up on the burner.

"..It has been awhile, too long." Elena replied with a small sad smile.

Nova knows the other girl is probably thinking about just how long it's been, so she tries to clear the slightly melancholy air with a joke. "How the garlic bread going, you haven't burned it already have you?" She teased clearing the air quickly as Elena rolled her eyes.

"No, in fact, I haven't," Elena replied taking mock offense in the question. "Are you sure? I mean, I've seen you burn pop tarts, Lena, I figure burning bread has got to be easier," Nova asked in a faux serious tone.

Elena laughed and threw an oven mitt at her that she dodged in time. "I can see when I'm not wanted..I'll just go help Bonnie with Caroline's hair." Elena declares leaving the kitchen slightly dramatically.

"Are you sure just your presence won't just make it straight?" Nova raised her voice slightly as she put in the lasagna noodles in the big pot filled with boiling water.

Elena just huffs at her before continuing to stomp up the stairs. "Kids these days, so passive aggressive." Nova said to the empty room, stirring the tomato sauce before snorting at the irony; Nova's the queen of passive aggressiveness.

* * *

 

She's just taking out the lasagna, the salad is in a giant wooden bowl, the garlic bread is in a basket, she's setting a pitcher of cold lemon water on the dining room table when the doorbell rings.

"I'll get it!" She yelled before rolling her eyes as she threw the apron down on the couch.

"I sound like a fucking house wife, ugh, I feel like a fucking housewife." She mumbled as she opened the door seeing an amused Stefan on the other side.

"Hi," Nova greeted just waving him in since she knows he's been invited in.

"Hi, something smells great," Stefan greeted stepping in the house, she closed the door behind him. "Thanks, dinner is pretty much done, just waiting for dessert," Nova said checking the window near the front door for any sign of Damon.

They could hear loud footsteps and thumps coming from upstairs.

"You cook?" Stefan asked curiously as they stood in the entryway, ignoring the chaos going on upstairs.

"Yeah, I'm not a chef or anything but when all your friends are terrible cooks, you have to learn," Nova explained to an amused Stefan, who nods understandingly.

She could hear footsteps coming down the stairs, her eyes took a mischievous glint to them as she continued.

"Elena is an awful cook, I wouldn't let her cook you anything, you'll end up with food poisoning, this one time-" Nova's cut off by said girl bumping into her, rudely, may she add, while Stefan looks on amused at their antics.

"Hey, great, you're here- don't listen to anything she says, she's a great big joker," Elena told her boyfriend with a big smile putting her arm around Nova and squeezing her shoulder slightly painfully.

"I didn't say anything that isn't true," Nova muttered despite knowing that both of them can hear her.

Elena shot her a mild glare as the rest of the girls came down the staircase at a more sedate pace.

Stefan was about to reply before the doorbell rang again cutting him off. Elena smiled apologetically at him before going to answer the door.

"I brought dessert," Damon declared smirking at his slightly shocked brother.

Nova turned to the girls who're watching curiously from the staircase. 'Go set the table.' She mouths to her twin sister and blonde best friend. Bonnie had to practically drag Caroline away from the drama that's obviously brewing between the brothers.

"What are you doing here, Damon?" Stefan finally manages to ask glaring at his brother while the girls look back and forth, both of them stuck in the middle of the pissing match between The Salvatore brothers. Again.

"Waiting for Elena to invite me in," Damon replied to his brother's question before looking at said girl with a smirk.

"Oh, yeah, you can-" Elena started to say only for Stefan cut her off in a slight panic. "No, no, he can't stay, can you, Damon?"

"What did you buy, please say chocolate." Nova interrupted, very hungry, one of the downfalls of cooking is either eating too much of your own cooking or eating none of it.

Tonight was the latter, sadly, she's starving and their little pissing match can wait until she's eaten a full course meal.

Damon's eyes flickered towards her, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "It's chocolate." He confirmed, making her let out a small 'yes' with a small fist pump as Stefan looked on in confusion at their interaction.

"He's got a date- didn't you say you have a date?" Stefan grasped at straws, it was kind of sad really.

"Yes, and here I am," Damon replied smirking at Nova, who frowned in endless confusion.

"I knew it!" They could hear Caroline say making her and Elena roll their eyes in unison.

Elena whose now exasperated wave in Damon. "It's fine, I invited both of you, come in," Elena spoke before Stefan could cut her off again.

Damon stepped inside smirking at Stefan before turning to Elena. "You have a beautiful home, Elena," Damon said to the teen, shooting Stefan a triumph look.

"Thank you." Elena replied with a slight smile before moving towards the dining room. Nova grabbed the cake from Damon's hands and put it on the table next to the lasagna pan, shooting the smirking vampire a weird look.

He looks way too excited by the fact he got invited into a teenager's home.

Dinner was slightly awkward, not even Caroline spoke up.

Nova, however, is hungry and her feet hurt from being on them all day, so slipped her sandals off under the table and ate, ignoring everything but her food.

"This is great, Nova, you cooked this all by yourself?" Stefan tried to break the silence.

To Nova's displeasure he asked this question while her fork was halfway to her mouth, she reluctantly put it down to answer the question. "Yes," She replied before bringing her fork back to her mouth.

Elena shot her a look, silently telling her to say more.

Nova sighed and put the fork down again. "Elena made the bread, set the timer and everything," Nova remarked with a grin at Elena, who rolled her eyes.

Caroline and Bonnie grinned, their tense shoulders easing slightly as the tension in the air dissipates.

"Well, I for one am having a blast, we haven't eaten a home cooked meal in forever isn't that right Stef?" Damon spoke up right beside her. Nova sighs in relief as she finally raised her fork to her mouth.

"Ooh, tragic backstory?" Caroline perked up at the sign of good gossip material.

"Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die," Damon said nonchalantly, looking at his brother as he says this. "We don't need to get into that right now, Damon." Stefan looked uncomfortable, which actually wasn't much different from how he's looked all night.

"Oh, you know what, you're right, Stef, I'm sorry, the last thing I wanted to do was bring her up," Damon replied as insincerely as possible.

"I'm pretty sure everyone at this table has a tragic story." Nova butted in the conversation before it could worse.

Caroline nodded in agreement. "My dad left my mom for a man."

"Our mom just left us," Nova said picking up another piece of garlic bread, good thing she got the big box instead of the small one. "And our dad's not too great at the whole parenting thing," Bonnie added, finally speaking.

"My parents died." Elena tried for nonchalant but failed.

There was another awkward silence.

"Well aren't we a lively bunch," Nova spoke up after a beat with a sad smile at Elena. She frowned at her glass of lemon water, maybe she should have made Damon get wine.. or vodka. "I feel like maybe I should have served something stronger than water tonight."

Everyone hums in agreement; at least they can agree on that.

"Did Tanner give you a hard time today?" Elena asked smiling at Stefan trying to keep the conversation going.

"Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right," Stefan replied trying to ignore his brother and so far failing. "I cannot believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team, Tyler must be seething, but good for you, go for it." Caroline piped in before hesitantly getting another plate of lasagna.

"Tyler used to be... maybe not nice, but a decent person, but as soon as he got hormones he became this Grade A dick," Nova told Stefan as all the girl's hummed in agreement.

"Bonnie, you should have seen Stefan today, Tyler threw a ball right at him, and-" Elena told Bonnie trying to include the ever reluctant Bonnie in the conversation.

"Yeah, I heard." Bonnie cut her friend off, shifting in her seat awkwardly when all eyes are on her.

Bonnie has been on edge all night, with the two vampires in the same room as her and her best friends; their eyes on her made her twin look as though she's about to flee from the home as if it's on fire, Nova knows that look all too well.

Despite the fact Bonnie doesn't want to judge them for what they are, it doesn't mean she's very comfortable around either of them; especially Damon. The fact that she know's he's been leaving a trail of bodies around town must be putting her on edge.

"Well, I haven't heard the story." Nova successively pulled everyone's attention away from Bonnie, her twin relaxed slightly and shot her a grateful smile.

"Well...Stefan and I were just talking, when out of nowhere, Tyler threw a ball heading straight towards Stefan's back- and Stefan, he just turned and casually caught it like it was nothing, it was amazing." Elena practically gushed, beaming at Stefan.

It was sickening.

"Looks like you've got your own personal cheerleader, Stef." Damon butted in the conversation trying to get Stefan's attention.

"You didn't miss out on much," Stefan reassured Nova while still doing his best to ignore his brother.

"I don't know about that, it must have been pretty awesome. Elena sure is swooning over it, I think I saw drool," Nova said the last part under her breath.

Apparently, it wasn't very quiet because when her fork is halfway to her mouth a hard kick to her shin makes her fork slip from her fingers, and back onto the plate with a loud clang that made everyone look up from their plates.

Nova and Elena share mild glares across the table.

"You okay?" Damon asked the girl next to him, his knowing eyes sparkling in amusement. "Just peachy." Nova gritted out still glaring at Elena while clutching her leg in pain.

"Speaking of cheerleading, Elena, sweetie, I love you, you're one of my best friends, and I say this with complete sensitivity," Caroline says as gently as possible to the now wary looking Elena.

"But you were terrible today, I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines since you missed summer camp." Caroline finished not pulling any punches.

"We'll work with her, she'll get it," Bonnie spoke for like the second time in a span of an entire conversation.

Elena doesn't look too happy with this conversation, probably because they're having a conversation about her, in front of her.

"You know, you don't seem like the cheerleader type, Elena," Damon said to the Gilbert.

"She used to be, she also used to be quite the party girl," Nova said sharing amused glances as Elena groaned in embarrassment.

"Remember the start of freshman year?" Caroline asked the girls before bursting into soft giggles.

"What happened in freshman year?" Stefan asked, looking at the sheepish Elena curiously.

"Let's just say we all went a little wild when we discovered the joys of alcohol," Nova replied to the question when she saw Elena wasn't going to answer.

"Ah," Stefan's face light up in recognition as he smiled at a sheepish Elena. "You girls seem really close."

"Well, we've only known each other since we've been in diapers." Elena finally spoke up.

 

* * *

 

 

"We should have the dessert in the living room," Caroline announced once everyone's plate had been emptied.

"I'll make some coffee and tea." Nova got up eager to get away and have a few minutes to herself.

"I'll help you," Bonnie said following her to the kitchen with a stack of dishes in hand; so much for the being alone part, Nova thought sadly.

Nova's setting the kettle on the burner when she can feel Bonnie's eyes on her as she sets the plates in the sink.

"What?" She asked pulling the instant coffee packets and the peppermint tea out. In response, Bonnie looked in the direction of the living room before turning the faucets cold water on and flipping the switch to the garbage disposal.

"Are we going to talk about what's going on?" Bonnie asked in a harsh whisper before cutting off what was going to be a denial.

"And don't tell me it's nothing, you did something, I can tell."

Nova sighed before turning towards her sister, she wanted to keep her sister away from what she's calling; 'Damon's Drama Saga' for a little while longer but it doesn't look like can't evade Bonnie anymore.

"I might have, maybe, magically bound us together in a deal." She confessed nonchalantly as she could while grabbing mugs out the cabinet.

"What?!" Bonnie shouted before lowering her voice when she could see her shout attracted some attention.

Nova smiled at her curious friends reassuringly before turning back to her sister's angry green eyes.

"Don't tell me you did an oath bound by magic- Grams warned us it'd kill the one making the oath if ever broken, those things bind us magic and soul till the day the witch dies, and if you're not careful it could be used against you. How could be so careless, Nova?" Bonnie practically ranted to an impassive Nova.

"Are you finished?" She asked calmly fixing coffee for the Salvatore's and tea for the rest of them.

"Yes," Bonnie huffed, slightly more relaxed now that she got that off her chest, she grabbed the plates and forks.

"It wasn't an oath, it was a deal, I tweaked the spell so it could be a mutual agreement instead," She hurried to finish when she saw the anger in Bonnie's eyes returning at the mention of her rewriting a spell that's ancient.

"He keeps his paws off my loved ones while I help him get in the tomb, the magic used to make the deal will go back to Nature once my end of the deal is done." Bonnie still doesn't look happy, she just even more worried in fact.

"I'll be fine Bonnie, and if the deal doesn't work out, I can break it." Nova fails to mention some minor facts.

Like the fact she can't break the deal without Damon's consent.

The fact she can't try to kill him while the deal is in intact.

Or the fact that if one of them tries to go out of the deal's outline that person will die a horrible death by Nature's punishment.

Minor details.

Bonnie is going to kill her if she ever finds out, and it's very likely that she will. Secrets never stay secrets for long, no matter how deep you bury them, people always find a way to dig them up, Nova thought with a frown.

Bonnie's quiet for a moment as she folded napkins on top of the china. "I don't like the fact that you're helping him, he's giving me bad vibes. He's killed at least four people in just two days, but I know nothing I could say would change your mind," Nova stays quiet as she stirs her cup of tea.

"I'll stand by you in your decision when we tell Grams everything.

I guess just wonder what's going to happen after the deal ends and he doesn't have the spell holding him back from killing our friends."

They're both silent for a moment as Nova processed the words and the weight of them.

"That's easy, I'm going to try to make him join the Dark side," She replied, breaking the silence and making her sister snort in amusement. "I thought we were the Light side." Bonnie returned while flicking the garbage disposal and cold water off.

Nova shrugged smiling slightly while putting the mugs, forks, and plates on a tray. "Potato, potahto."

They both share grins before jumping when Caroline yells from the living room. "I can't take any more of this awkward silence, could you two hurry it up in there?!"

They sighed in unison as they prepared themselves to go in the living room.

Bonine grabbed the tray from her sister, placing the plates on top of the tray next to the mugs before they walk into the living room, where there was indeed an awkward silence; no doubt the reason for the silence is also the reason for Damon's smirk.

Nova let Bonnie take the couch next to Caroline, the only space left was next to Elena and Stefan. Nova has no intentions of sitting next to the couple who look very much in their own little world.

Somehow she ended up sitting in Damon's lap, she's not going to even question it.

Questioning things that are done by Damon Salvatore usually ends up giving her a headache, or sexually frustrated, usually both.

She's just going to drink her tea and eat her cake while sitting on her new favorite pillow.

"Why don't you tell them more about your family?" Elena said to Bonnie trying to restart the conversation after everyone is given a mug and serving of chocolate cake.

Bonnie, while not as antisocial as her sister, and definitely opinionated as the rest of them, but the fact is, Bonnie is very much the quiet one in the group.

So it's not surprising to Nova when Bonnie answered very unenthusiastically. "We already talked about that, Elena,"

"No, I mean about the witches," Elena said, unaffected with her friend's mood, she turned towards Stefan, "The Bennett family apparently has a lineage of witches, It's really cool,"

"Cool isn't the word I'd use," Bonnie said shifting in the armchair, probably slightly uncomfortable with the irony of discussing her ancestors being Witches when she herself is one.

"Well, it's certainly interesting, I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic druids that migrated here in the 1800s," Stefan said to Bonnie while Elena watches on silently. The whole purpose of this dinner was so that her friends would get to know her boyfriend.

Nova can get along with almost everyone, when she want's to that is, she's not very social but she's usually dragged around to social event's with Caroline and often get's roped into doing the blonde's bidding. Which involved people, unfortunately.

Caroline is a social butterfly and while not exactly easy to get along with all the time, the blonde certainly has a way with people and getting them to do things they'd normally never do under normal circumstances.

Elena's a natural charmer and can draw people in like magnets, people like her because when she's nice, it's genuine, it's rare to find those sort of people that are genuinely nice.

Bonnie doesn't interact much with people who are out of their circle of friends but she can charm people just as easily as Elena when she puts her mind to it. Which is obviously not now.

"Our family came by the way of Salem," Nova explained before shoving cake in her mouth.

"Really, Salem witches?" Stefan asked, very interested in the conversation. Nova can see Damon roll his eyes out of the corner of her eyes.

Dude has serious issues if he's jealous of the attention his brother is getting from teenagers. She's blaming Katherine, for like fifty percent of his issues. Nova got his attention by offering him her forkful of cake, desserts is the key to pure happiness. He looked at her curiously when she offered the fork but still ate it.

No, that was the wrong word, he didn't eat the cake- it was practically pornographic how slowly he licked the damn fork.

Fucking Salvatores, she thought in a slight daze as he finished licking chocolate off his lips.

"Yeah," Bonnie responded breaking Nova out of her trance.

Nova cleared her throat, turned her head towards her sister, and ignored the way she can see Damon smirking at her out the corner of her eye.

"I would say that's pretty cool," Stefan said, obviously trying to woo Bonnie on the Stelena side.

"Really, why?" Bonnie actually looked curious about what he's going to say, which was a total difference from how she was acting just two minutes ago.

"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity," Stefan replied making Bonnie smile reluctantly.

"Yeah, they are." Bonnie is officially won over on the Stelena ship.

"Witches, next thing you know vampires are going to be running around town." Nova jokes after a moment.

After sharing a look with Damon and they both burst out in laughter.

Stefan and Bonnie share an exasperated look, Elena and Caroline just look on very confused, and Nova is still giggling at her lame joke.

Once they finish having dessert, all of them chip in with the cleaning, well, everyone but her and Caroline.

Bonnie just went in to check on Elena after a long moment after Damon went in the kitchen.

Nova could feel Stefan's curious stare on her, she figures he probably wants to talk to her, considering her little joke was practically a confirmation she knows what he and his brother are, so she smiled brightly at a now wary Caroline.

"Care, could you do me a big favor and get me a glass of water?" Nova asked her friend.

Caroline looked like she was going decline, rudely, but she looked between Stefan and Nova in realization before nodding and quickly moving to the kitchen as Stefan watched on quietly.

Nova's been known to give all of her friend's significant others a little shovel talk, it had got confusing when she had to give both Elena and Matt the talk, confusing, but hilarious.

"You know," Stefan stated after Caroline left the room.

She turned towards him before smiling slightly blandly. "Yes," She confirmed, not going into detail about what she knows in case someone's listening in.

"What are you-" Stefan started to say, probably going to ask what she's doing with Damon.

"Not important," Nova cut him off, her eyes turn to steel as she leaned back into the couch. "What is important is your intentions with Elena,"

"I only want her to be happy," Stefan answered without hesitation.

"Good," Nova said beaming at the tense vampire who relaxed at her genuine smile."If you hurt her, in any way, I'll castrate you and send the remains to you on your birthday wrapped in a bow." She added casually looking at her nails, he folds his legs instantly and nodded hurriedly.

* * *

 

 

The next day is spent preparing for the game; Nova managed to sleep decently before she had to head to school, the game is in thirty, and she's currently busy letting off some steam, scratching an itch.

She feels like a walking cliche, fooling around behind the bleachers, with another cheerleader, she currently doesn't really care.

"More…" The other girl moans after her first orgasm.

Her hips writhing for more as Nova fingered her lazily under her uniform, her boy shorts hanging from Nova's bomber jacket.

"Please…" Emily whines when she doesn't move her fingers.

Instead of listening to the girl Nova pulls her fingers out of the girl's wet center making her groan in disappointment. Nova took a step back taking in the disheveled girl who's glaring at her half-heartedly, leaning on the bleacher's gate.

Nova not taking her eyes off the girl brought her two wet fingers to her mouth and licked at her fingers, she hummed at the taste, her eyes never leaving the flushed girl face.

"Patience…" Nova finally speaks, yanking her own boy shorts down stuffing them in her other pocket.

She walked back over to the other girl, who yanked her closer by her hips, Their mouths eagerly meet in a frenzied pace, their tongues moving over each other in a fight for dominance that Nova won as she sucked on the other girl's tongue.

Nova sat on the girl's slightly raised thigh, her fingers going back to work under the short skirt. She teased the blonde cheerleader, running her fingers lightly over her swollen clit, making the girl moan their mouths disconnecting as her hips followed the movement.

Nova's own hips moved at a sedate pace over her tan thigh, the thigh soon shined, wet with her own arousal. Nova stops teasing the poor girl and thrust her fingers into the blonde's dripping hole, her thumb rubbing against her clit.

"God, yes...fuck..." Emily sobbed in pleasure, gripping Nova's bare ass under the skirt, she pushed Nova's wet center harder against her thigh. Nova moaned picking up her fingers pace and humping the blonde's leg faster. Her head dropped in the crook of Emily's shoulder. Her fingers went in deeper and her thumb moved harder and her hips moved impatiently.

Nova bit the girl's neck as an orgasm washed over her, the move took Emily over the edge with her as she cried out in pleasure.

Nova had a few moments of pure bliss as she slowly calmed down from her orgasm before something- someone, interrupts her moment of bliss.

"...Well, isn't this cozy,"

Nova groaned in the blonde's neck before pulling back, as said blonde jumped in surprise at the sound of Damon's voice.

"Please don't stop on my account,"

Nova smiled apologetically at the blushing blonde, sending a glare at the smirking Vampire before looking back at the still out of it girl. "Sorry about him, Emily, I've been meaning to get him a bell...and leash," She added glaring at the still smirking Salvatore.

Emily just nodded, still shocked and leaning on the gate on slightly weak legs. "Why don't you go see if the rest of the girls are ready?" Nova suggested gently to the shell shocked girl as Damon watched on silently, highly amused.

"Yes..I..will go do that.." Emily replied starting to walk away, eager to get away if the burning of her cheeks is anything to go by.

"Oh, wait!" She stopped the blonde with a hand on her arm.

Emily gave her a slightly impatient and expectant look. "Here you go.." Nova hands back the girl's boy shorts, which just makes her cheeks turn even redder, it was adorable, and suddenly Nova is turned on again. And frustrated all over again.

Emily snatched the boy shorts from her hands before running away, passing an amused Damon on the way. "Well aren't you a busy little bee," Damon spoke to a still sexually frustrated Nova, who rolled her eyes at the comment.

"Busy little bee? Seriously? You couldn't come up with anything better?" She returned before yanking her own boy shorts from her bomber jacket and slipping them back on under her skirt.

He shrugged, nonplussed, crossing his arm over his chest. "I didn't take you for a voyeur, is that a vampire thing or a Damon thing?" She asked scathingly, fixing her slightly skewed ponytail, Damon watching her all the while.

"I was just checking up on my favorite cheerleader, I wasn't expecting my poor eyes to see you fingering some girl, behind the bleachers no less," He replied in mock horror.

She laughed slightly, her anger went as quickly as it came, she picked up her red and white pom pom's off the ground.

"You loved it, you got a free show," Nova shot back walking with him around the bleacher's and towards the roaming teenagers who're getting ready for the game.

"It was certainly the highlight of my day."

"You obviously need to get laid then."

"You wanna help with that?" Damon asked leaning into her space with a wicked grin, she rolled her eyes and pushed him away.

Which does nothing but make his grin widen and move closer.

He's really pretty, like really pretty. No one should be that good looking, Nova thought absently before shaking it off and leaning away from him.

"No," She said firmly making him tilt his head in confusion.

The guy has obviously never been denied, the fact kind of amuses her but she stomps down on her amusement so he doesn't think she's laughing at him.

"No?" Damon repeated bewildered, making her roll her eyes and take a step back.

"No, non, nullo modo, kekkou desu, no grazie-" She said no in at least four different languages before he cut her off with a roll of eyes, finally moving away from her.

"Okay, I got it the first time, and did you just say no thank you in Italian?" He asked rhetorically but she still nods in confirmation.

At this point, she's learning about four languages. French, Japanese, Italian, and Latin; of course, she can only speak two fluently, English and Latin. And sometimes she fails at speaking English, which is sort of sad.

"You need to work on your pronunciation," Damon replied like the dick he is, she sighed in mock despair.

"There's just no pleasing you is there?" She asked leaving before he could open his mouth and say something no doubt dirty.

* * *

 

She can hear the marching band playing close by, and she's as soon as she's close to the crowd of drunk teens, football players and cheerleaders, she's yanked on the arm by an annoyed Caroline. "Did you know?"

"That you're apparently stronger than you look?" Nova answered and also questioned. Caroline sighed shaking her head. "No, I mean did you know that Elena was going to quit cheerleading today."

"She didn't tell me, but I'm not surprised, I could see her heart just wasn't in it anymore," Nova replied honestly.

Caroline sighed heavily before pushing her towards the other cheerleaders. "Come on, they're about to burn the Lions scarecrow and Tanner's going to make his speech any minute now,"

"We do the same thing every year, Care, I don't think we're going to miss anything important," Nova said letting herself be pulled in the direction where the cheerleaders are already, well, cheering.

Caroline doesn't even respond and just pushed her next to a cheering Bonnie. "Where have you been?" Bonnie questioned out of the corner of her mouth, her smile wide as she waved her pom poms.

Nova raised her own high in the air, smiling just as widely as her sister. "I was just unwinding before the game," Nova replied sharing a glance towards Emily whose two positions away from them.

Caroline and Bonnie saw the look and both rolled their eyes. "Could you stop corrupting my cheerleaders?" Caroline practically pleaded while still managing to beam at the crowd.

"Sorry, I only can be good for one hour a day," Nova responded while grinning at the crowd, "Go, Timberwolves!"

Tanner made his speech after they burnt The Lion's scarecrow, which was just a stolen jersey on a badly made scarecrow.

After a moment, the crowd started to move towards a commotion and Nova ends up swept up in the crowd, she huffed in indignation. This would have never happened if she were taller, Nova thought in irritation.

Nova though short, was popular and had a reputation of repaying people who annoy her, she can be very creative in ways of 'repayment'. She managed to shove people out the way, and those she couldn't shove she glared at until they let her though.

By some miracle, she somehow managed to get there at the same time as Stefan and Elena. "Hey! He's down, that's enough!" Stefan yelled running towards the pair of fighting teens, Jeremy and Tyler.

Only once Jeremy is down, Tyler doesn't stop punching.

Nova having seen enough rushed passed a shocked and concerned Elena. "Nova, what are you doing?!" Elena yelled at her retreating back.

Nova being the overprotective idiot she is, jumped on Tyler's back and pulled him in a chokehold as he went back to repeatedly punching Jeremy obviously not listening to Stefan.

She's short and the only muscle she has is from cheerleading and the rare times she jogs in the mornings, which she hasn't done in like a week, maybe two.

Tyler is a jock through and through, and though his werewolf curse hasn't been triggered, he definitely has the rage that goes with being a werewolf; but what she lacks in strength she makes up in her mercilessness.

Nova kicks hard him in the balls before he can react to her somewhat weak hold. She could practically hear the sympathetic groans of all the male population as she does so.

Or was that Tyler actually groaning in pain? She can't tell, what she can see is Stefan wincing out of the corner of her eye.

"Calm the fuck down, dickhead." She whispered into Tyler's ear, and by some miracle, he listens. Nova didn't really think he'd listen, considering, she had called him a dickhead.

She hops down off his back once she think's he's calmed down, she relaxes once he turns around and doesn't attack her like a rabid animal.

She startled and jumped slightly when she heard Elena shout; "Jeremy, no!"

Jeremy rushed towards Tyler with a broken glass bottle, she sighed in relief when Tyler manages to dodge the blow, the glass instead ends up clashing with Stefan's raised hand.

"Tyler, knock it off!" Matt maneuvers himself in front of an angry again Tyler, who looks like he wants to kill Jeremy for what he tried to do. Elena tries to tend to her bleeding brother but is only getting glares in response.

"I'm fine!" Nova could hear Jeremy say in response to his sister's fussing.

"Come on, man, come on." Matt practically pleads with his best friend, and Tyler with one last glare at Jeremy leaves with an angry huff.

When the unhelpful crowd left, she left, leaving Elena and Stefan alone, as Elena projects her fussing somewhere else.

She walked after the limping Jeremy, picking up her dropped pom pom's on the way, huffing at the fact they got partially trampled on. She ran to catch up with Jeremy. Seven hells this whole having more than one friend thing is hard to keep up with, she thought as she ran, her loud footsteps alerting Jeremy to the fact that someone is following him.

"I said I'm fine, Elena!" Jeremy yelled turning slightly shocked to see Nova instead of his mother hen of a sister before sighing in exasperation. "What do you want now, Nova?"

"Haven't you heard? I'm your new stalker," Nova joked waving her pom pom's in the air, sighing when he didn't even crack a smile.

"My jokes are obviously wasted on you...I was just making sure you're okay."

"Did Elena send you?" He asked and she struggled not to punch him, or strangle him, but refrains from doing either as the poor dude looks like the wind could knock him over.

She sighed when his legs slightly buckled and ran over to help him sit down on the bleachers. "Believe it or not, I followed your moody ass of my own free will,"

Jeremy sighed in slight relief as his legs got a break, but still eyed her skeptically, she get's it, even though it annoys the shit out of her.

Elena can be just as much of a control freak as Caroline, it's why they clash so much, and also why they get along so much.

She pulled her phone out of the top part of her bomber jacket, and ignoring Jeremy's stare, she turned her phone brightness all the up and shined it into his eyes.

When he tried to lean away she grabbed his face in a tight grip that made him grimace.

Nova shined the light from her cellphone in his eyes, his pupils are slightly dilated, but she thinks that's more because he's drunk than the fact he has a concussion. "You're my friend first, and my best friend's brother's second, I don't care if you don't believe me, I'm here for good, I'm like...that mold stain that just won't go away."

He snorted in amusement before grimacing in pain when she poked his bruised cheek.

"What's the verdict, doctor?" He asked sarcastically making her smile slightly, still staring at his bruises. The only thing holding her back from giving Tyler another kick in the balls is because Jeremy needs her and despite the fact the guy has been acting like a massive tool lately; he's still her friend.

"You have a terminal illness, it's called stupidity," She replied in a faux serious tone. He rolled his eyes and she smiled at the headache it must have given him, if the grimace is any indication.

"I would prescribe a heavy dosage of this thing called self-preservation... and avoiding fist fights with people ten times bigger than you might also help," She added on as he stared at her slightly incredulous as she handed him a tissue for his bleeding nose.

"You do realize that you're being a little bit of a hypocrite? Person who jumped on the back of someone who's ten times bigger than you," Jeremy remarked, tilting his head back and holding the tissue to his bleeding nose.

"Didn't you know? We're all hypocrites," She informed him, putting her phone back in her pocket. "Besides, now I can say I kicked a guy in the balls," She said brightly probably taking too much glee in that fact as Jeremy gave her a wary look.

"...The look on his face was priceless," He confessed as she cleaned up his face with the small pack of tissues. "Was it, is it bad I hope someone filmed it?"

"Nope, dick deserves it."

She doesn't reply to that comment or ask why he was fighting with Tyler in the first place, she figures it was about Vicki.

"You're good to go, your pupils are dilated but that probably has more to do with the fact you stink of four different kinds of alcohol than the fact you might have a concussion," She stated before patting his face without thinking and grimacing when he hissed in pain when her hand came in contact with his bruised cheek.

"Thanks, doc," He said sarcastically, as she got off the bleacher and picked up her pom poms. "How do you know this stuff, by the way? You barely flinched when Vicki was bleeding from her neck," He asked curiously as she prepared to leave.

"I was a... clumsy kid, never really liked the hospital," She said before hesitantly continuing, "Your dad was the one who stepped in to take care of me every time I had minor scratches and bruises. He gave me medical advice when I showed minor interest, the guy never shut up about his job."

It was half truth, she hates hospitals because they remind her of all the time she spent in them in her old life, her mom had been in and out of them more times than she could count. But she's never been clumsy, in either life. Absent minded, sure, clumsy, no.

Those visits to Dr. Gilbert's office were mostly because of the explosions she and Bonnie caused while practicing their Magic, ah, good times.

Jeremy smiled for a moment before his gaze took a sadder tone, she was going to say something but her phone practically blew up in texts.

She unlocked her phone just as Bonnie called her, she answered slightly confused as Jeremy looked on curiously.

"Tanner's dead, where are you?" Bonnie said over the phone, her voice panicked.

"With Jeremy," Nova answered her sister. Not very shocked, or sad, with the news. "Good, I'm going home, we'll talk later." Bonnie said before hanging up before Nova could say anything.

Guess someone's not too happy with her.

"What is it?" Jeremy asked curiously, bringing her attention to him. "Tanner is dead, an animal attack apparently," She lied easily, shocking the teen with her news.

"Do you need a ride home, Jer?" Nova asked after a moment of silence, he shook his head. "No, but thanks, for this," He waves at his slightly cleaned up face, she nodded before turning to leave.

"And sorry for being a dick to you lately," He added as she walked away, she nodded, accepting the half hearted apology.

"Just make sure it doesn't happen again...or you'll end up like Tyler." She could practically hear the grimace coming from Jeremy as she walked away.

She ends up passing Vicki on the way, who glared at her before her shoulder 'accidentally' shoved Nova slightly.

What a fucking bitch, Nova thought as she left the school.


	9. Confession Time; Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confessions, eavesdropping, and flowers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally almost forgot to update on this site, but here I am. I'm sorry it took so long, I honestly just didn't like this chapter but the next one is better, it was supposed to be together, but that was about 11,000 words and I did not want to go beyond 7k, lol.

The sun beams radiantly down on The Bennett women as they lounged in Grams' garden.

It was harvest time.

Grams was examining the plants, flowers, and mushrooms they'd grown over the years. They always split the bundles into three's so they could each have their share, it'll most likely be the last harvest they'll have before it get's too cold for half of them to grow, with proper care the other half can survive through the winter.

They could use their Magic to keep them alive, but sometimes it's best to let Nature take its own time.

At least that's what Grams always says.

The twins, having finished sorting the harvest into three's, had settled down under the tree where their old swing rests. Bonnie had laid a blanket on the green grass and Nova had set some fruit down on the blanket; blueberries, cherries, strawberries and three jars of lemon water. All of their shoes have been thrown somewhere near the back door, Nova thinks it's a Witch thing, it makes them feel closer to Nature when they're in contact with the earth.

Bonnie's currently [braiding](https://www.polyvore.com/vampire_diaries_supernova/set?id=227936331) Nova's hair while she herself snacks on the fruit laid on out on the blanket. There's a cold breeze whirling the red and orange colored leaves around, but the breeze is refreshing instead of biting. Nova sighed in content as the smell of fresh lavender and roses washed over her.

Everything was peaceful, the only sounds she could hear is the sound of the wind rustling the nearby trees, the steady water coming out of the watering can and hitting gently onto the plants, and the gentle sound of Bonnie weaving her hair with fresh flowers.

At least that's all she heard until her twin decided to ruin the peace and quiet, "...Are you going to tell her?" Bonnie questioned her sister quietly, finishing the complicated braid with a flourish.

Nova sighed and turned towards her sister, who sat behind her, Bonnie's own hair braided with a flower crown that Nova made resting on top of her dark brown hair. "Yes, of course, soon," Nova replied very vaguely.

"Okay, good," Bonnie spoke with a mischievous smile that alarms Nova, rarely is her sister mischievous, but when she is it's never good for anyone in her vicinity, "Hey, Grams, could you come here for a second?"

Oh, look she was right.

Grams looked up curiously at Bonnie's call and soon pulled off her gloves and slowly walked over to them. "What? No- not now," Nova whispered harshly to her twin, visibly panicking as Grams got closer.

Bonnie shot her a look that made Nova wince; whenever her twin or even Grams gave her that look it usually means she's about to get reprimanded. It never fails to make her feel like a child again, and with anyone else and she'd shrug it off and tell them to mind their own fucking business, but Bonnie and Grams have a special way of making her feel younger than she is.

"Yes, now. You keep bringing up the fact that I'm avoiding telling Lena and Care about what we are- but right now you're doing the same thing- only with Grams," Bonnie bit out firmly.

Bonnie softened somewhat when Nova flinched at the harsh tone, she grabbed Nova's hand in a comforting grip. "I don't know why you're so afraid to tell her, but whatever it is- put it aside for now, we need to be together in this." Bonnie finished just as Grams sat down on the blanket, pulling her gloves off while eyeing them curiously, she grabbed her jar of water.

"What was it that you needed sweetheart?" Grams asked after a moment of silence. Bonnie gave her sister an expectant look.

Nova sighed while playing with the end of her braid, a sign of nervousness that she soon forced herself to stop, folding her hands in her lap. "We have something to tell you," Nova started hesitantly.

Bonnie coughed and gave her sister a pointed look. "I have something to tell you," Nova corrected herself, her hand automatically went back to tugging her braided hair in mild anxiety.

She suddenly wishes it wasn't braided so she could comb her fingers through her hair; it's an old habit she's never managed to break, the only tell she has when she's nervous. Grams dying flashes before her eyes as soon as the elder Witch grabbed her hand, gently pulling it away from her hair tugging.

I can change that, nothing is set in stone, Nova thought determinedly. Blinking herself out her daze, she focused back on her Grams, who's now sporting a worried frown. "What is it?" Grams asks with a concerned frown as Bonnie looked on silently with a comforting hand on Nova's back.

And so, Nova started to explain everything she could, she speaks freely, not afraid of someone overhearing.

Grams had spelled her whole home- from the backyard to the front-

as soon as the girls started to practice Magic, so nothing Supernatural could hear anything they weren't supposed to and the neighbors would never see anything 'unexplainable', such as their neighbors floating in mid air or starting fires with their mind.

She's grateful for it now as she spills almost everything she's been keeping from the moment Damon Salvatore announced his arrival in Mystic Falls; from the digging up the Salvatore's father's grave, finding Emily Bennett's Grimoire in said grave.

She spoke of the Tomb with starving Vampires in it and how Damon thinks his lover has been in there since he'd been turned, when in fact she never was.

And then she told Grams about the deal sealed by Nature to open the Tomb for Damon Salvatore and in return he'd couldn't lay a hand on her, or her loved ones. Grams is quiet through it all, though, as they say; eyes are the window to the soul, and it showed in how Grams' eyes would express the emotion she didn't let show on her face.

Irritation and exasperation at the fact they robbed a man's grave.

Anger at the fact their Ancestors Grimoire had been placed in a grave instead of inside Bennett's home, where it belongs.

But when she got to the part about the rewriting a spell just to make a deal with Damon Salvatore, well, Grams adapted the world's best poker face. "...And that's pretty much everything, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner- I just... had a really bad feeling." Nova finished quietly, her hands now clasped in Bonnie's to keep them from messing up her braid.

If she had told someone else she had kept secrets from them because she had a 'bad feeling', they'd roll their eyes, get angry with her, and claim that she was making excuses.

But they're Witches and their bad feelings usually lead to something bad actually happening. Warnings from Nature, or Witches intuition, Grams had called it.

"She didn't have much of a choice- He'd never believe her if she told him what she knows, plus, he confronted her, she was just trying to protect our friends and-" Bonnie started to defend her sister when their Grams just sat there silently for a moment too long for a nervous Nova.

Nova would never forgive herself if her lies and secrets ruined her relationships. She knows it's inevitable, with all the secrets she keeps locked in her mind as much as it's locked in her journal.

But the reason she doesn't say 'fuck it' and spill every horrible deed she knows about that's ever going to be done to the people she loves- is for the people she loves. Knowing the future is very much a domino effect or even a house of cards, one wrong move could knock it all down.

But if she lost her loved one's trust and love, well; every lie, every secret, every plot and plans she's cooked up in the past seven years, would be all for nothing.

"I know sweetheart," Grams cut in gently and grabbed both of her granddaughter's hands in reassurance.

"It was reckless, rewriting a spell that hasn't been touched for decades and doing it without all the things needed was down right foolish," Grams berated her very sheepish granddaughter with a stern frown. "But I'm not angry with either of you," Grams added her brown eyes that had been lit in anger cooled down as she looked at her nervous granddaughters.

"If anything my anger is directed towards myself for not being there for you girls- and at Damon Salvatore for even breathing in either of your directions. But I could never be angry at either of you for doing what you think is right," Grams reassured them, the twins sighed in relief at their Grams' words.

Nova stands by her decisions, no matter how stupid they seem, or what scolding she's given but it lessens her anxiety, knowing that her family stands beside her.

"I'd like to see the spell you rewrote, just to check it over and make sure there aren't any loopholes you missed, " Grams said her grip left their hands to pick up her share of the bundle of plants and placing it in her gathering basket.

Nova nodded in agreement while helping Bonnie with their share, and without a spell murmured, the flowers and herbs slowly became dry under their gentle fingertips, soon shrinking and turning an even more vibrant color in the process.

"Of course," Nova said in agreement easily, the relief in her voice was transparent. "And I wouldn't mind taking a sneak peek at that Grimoire you girls found," Grams added with a smile as she looked at them with pride in her eyes.

Nova likes that look in her Grams' eyes, it happens often, surprisingly enough. She's still not used to making people proud, but with Grams, it seems to be a regular thing.

"It belongs to you as much as it does to us, I'll bring it all to you tomorrow." Nova promised as Bonnie nodded in agreement to what she said.

The rest of the early afternoon was spent relaxing, gardening, finishing the fruit, and enjoying each other's company.

Bonnie had this self-satisfied look on her face after everything was said and done, it slightly annoyed Nova. It must be a sibling thing because as soon they started to walk towards their vehicles with baskets that are filled with the harvest in their hands; she decided to wipe the smug grin from her little sister's face in typical big sister fashion.

Or maybe it's just her being a bitch.

"We have to tell them soon," Nova spoke up suddenly, startling Bonnie slightly as she practically skipped to her car.

"What?" Bonnie asked with a confused frown.

Nova sighed and placed the gathering basket on top of her car before walking towards her sister, who's leaned on her own car door. "We have to tell Lena and Care soon- about what we are. Elena will soon find out about the supernatural, what with her new boyfriend being what he is, it's inevitable. " Nova clarified for her twin as she got closer.

Nova waits for it to sink in before continuing, eyeing her sister's blank face in concern, now slightly regretting ruining her sister's good mood. Oh well, she started this speech, might as well finish it, Nova thought dryly.

"I think she deserves to know what we-" Nova pointed at the both of them with a raised brow, as Bonnie listened on with a frown, "Her best friends of seventeen years are- before she finds out what her boyfriend- of less than a week- is, don't you?" She finished, folding her arms in front of her.

"When- can't we just- I don't know- stop her from finding out, for a little while longer?" Bonnie asked her sister, her green eyes pleading with her as much as her question did.

Nova shook her head and watched her sister as her face crumpled in disappointment. She gets why her sister is hesitant to tell the girls about, well, everything. They've been taught the history of Witches, how they'd been hunted like animals by Vampires and Humans, only to be used by them at the same time.

Bonnie isn't afraid of Caroline and Elena suddenly hating them and hunting them down with pitchforks and torches. But the fear of rejection and the fear of their best friends, well, fearing them, is as smothering as the anxiety of being hated.

They're powerful, really powerful, especially when they work together. She's not sure if it's because they started learning Magic earlier than Bonnie did on the show, or because it's not a show but real life so- of course things are going to be different, but Bonnie is so much more powerful. They have their limits as much as any sane Witch does, but they can't hide just how powerful they are, they won't hide it.

Nova knows Elena and Caroline will accept them as they are, it's one thing she doesn't have to worry about; but Bonnie, she doesn't know, not for sure. Doubt is as ugly as fear.

"You know them as well as I do, Bon. They're nosy as any teenage girl can get, we all share that in common. The only reason they haven't figured out about what we are yet- is because we treat it like it's a joke when that's far from the truth." Nova spoke up after a long minute of silence of just watching her sister.

Bonnie sighed and nodded in agreement, resignation in her tone as she spoke up, "When do you think we should tell them?"

Nova thought about it for a moment before shrugging, "I was thinking we could do a little slumber party after you guys come back from the Founders party tomorrow, it's been awhile since our last one," Nova answered the question as she watched Bonnie open her car and place the gathering basket in the passenger seat.

"Alright then, it's settled, we'll tell them after the Founders party." Bonnie stated and with a final strained smile at her concerned sister she slid into her car and closed the door.

Nova stepped back towards the curb near her own car as she watched her sister drive off in the direction of their home. She hates that her little sister is even scared, she shouldn't be afraid to tell their best friends about what they are.

But fear is a bitch that controls even the bravest; to her being brave means to being terrified but still having the strength to stand tall despite the crippling fear eating at you from the inside out.

Nova knows that Bonnie can be brave, and despite her sister's doubts in herself, she believes in her sister. Nova just hopes Bonnie can find that bravery when they have to lay down all of their secrets.

"...Earth to Nova," a voice said snapping said girl from her deep thoughts.

Nova smiled up at Caroline as the blonde held up two dresses up in front of her in a silent question, one was yellow with a brown belting laced on the waist and the other was white with lacing around the middle; Nova had promised to help Caroline pick out a dress to wear for the Founder's party.

While Elena most definitely has a date with Stefan, all the guys are either taken, douchebags, or gay, so Bonnie and Caroline decided to go together. Nova is skipping, usually, she wouldn't spoil a good excuse to dress up, but she needs some me time.

She deserves some me time, she'll fucking get her me time.

"Neither," Nova sighed and got off the bed she had collapsed on as soon as she entered the room. She headed towards Caroline's closet and Caroline herself came alongside her as Nova went through the hangers of clothes, looking for a specific dress she knows for a fact that Caroline has in her closet.

"Here we go, how about this?" Nova announced after a moment as she pulled out a soft pink medium length dress, there's sheer mesh on the neckline with rose gold embellishment lining the bust line, the short sleeves, and mesh neckline. It's cute, flirty, and long enough to be worn around adult supervision.

"Perfect," Caroline smiled in satisfaction before grabbing the dress from Nova and after a minute of holding the dress to herself near the full-length mirror, she looked from the dress to Nova, who stood in the reflection behind her. "How do you know my closet better than me?" Caroline asked with a questioning glance a grin on her face.

Nova chuckled at the question as her cell phone started to ring, she answered the question as she moved towards her tote that sat on the bed, "Because all four of us end up leaving our behind stuff, I bought that dress last year."

"I think I remember you buying it... are you sure you don't mind?" Caroline asked absently while tilting the dress, the embellishment shimmered in the change of angle, she mentally went through the list of shoes she owns that'd match the dress.

Nova hummed watching her friend in amusement, she glanced at the phone only once before hitting the decline on the call. "Of course I don't mind- Besides I owe you for those boots I stole last time," Nova added unapologetically as Caroline hooked the dress on the mirror and turned towards Nova with a mild glare.

"I knew it was you," Caroline pouted and folded her arms as Nova's phone rang, again. Maybe she should turn it off, she's never turned off her phone for longer than an hour but maybe it'd be worth it.

"Of course it was," Nova answered with a grin before hitting decline on the phone call, again. "You blamed it on Bonnie!" Caroline exclaimed in irritation while pointing at her friend in accusation, who shrugged, not very bothered by her friend's ire.

Honestly, they all steal each other's stuff- at least once a week, they complain and gripe about it, but at the end of the day, it's just for show. Most of the time. "You assumed it was me, I never confirmed or denied it, I just said-" Nova started to say with a mischievous look in her eye.

"That maybe I should ask Bonnie? Yeah, that totally didn't make it look like you were blaming Bonnie, why didn't you just ask to borrow them." Caroline asked her amused friend irritably.

Nova snorted in amusement, Caroline doesn't mind sharing, but only when she's done with it and not a minute before.

"I was feeling a little klepto that day-" She defended weakly before resuming speaking after she see's her excuse is not making things better, "Besides, you guard your clothes better than you did your virginity," Caroline looked offended at Nova's statement before she thought about it for a moment and shrugged it off, it's not like it's not accurate.

"True," Caroline replied unapologetically before eyeing her friend curiously as Nova's phone rang, for the third time in a row. "Are you going to answer that?"

Nova groaned and collapsed back on the bed before reluctantly hitting accept on the call as Caroline turned to raid her closet, looking for shoes to wear with the dress.

"What?" Nova asked not bothering with a greeting.

"Hello to you too, you've been ignoring my calls," Damon stated in a demanding tone, she rolled her eyes even though Damon couldn't see it. Nova shook her head in a negative as Caroline showed her a pair of pumps, 'Too slutty' she mouthed to Caroline, who threw them back in the closet and went back to her search.

"I'm busy- sue me for not wanting to be dragged into your diabolical schemes on this lovely afternoon." She responded sarcastically and nodded at the white sandals Caroline pulled from the depths of her closet.

"I'm hurt, I thought you liked my diabolical schemes- are you breaking up with me, is that what this is? I thought we had something real," Damon said in an offended tone so false that Nova could feel it over the phone.

Nova laughed in reluctant amusement, no matter how hard she tries not to like him while he's still an emotionless dick, the guy still manages to put a smile on her face, no matter how reluctant it is. "Sorry, it's not me, it's you," Nova said in false remorse, listening to him chuckle over the phone.

Caroline moved towards her jewelry box and predictably eavesdropped on Nova's side of the phone conversation.

"Do you happen to have an invitation to the Founders party?" Damon suddenly changed the direction of the conversation so fast it gave her whiplash.

At least now she knows what the hell he wants with her that he had to call her three times in a row; he want's an invitation to the party, now if only she could remember why. She knows it's not just to bug the fuck out of Stefan, the answer is on the tip of her tongue, out the corner of her eye, but she can't quite see it.

"Yeah, half the town was invited." She confirmed but didn't answer the silent question.

Caroline showed her the small gold butterfly earrings her father got her for her sweet sixteen and Nova gave her a thumbs up.

"...Nova Amelia Bennett, would you give me the honor of going to the Founders party?" Damon's charm practically oozed from the phone.

And on any other girl, it would have worked. But Nova, while very much a hormonal teenager, is still not a teenager mentally, and she has plans. Plans that don't involve scheming Vampires and old people showing off even older people's shit, that's what museums are for, and no matter how much museums intrigue her, she has plans.

So with all the maturity of her mental age, she declined, maturely. "Fuck no,"

It's also kind of creepy how he knows her middle name when she never even told him. Someone's been Internet stalking her, or just plain stalking her, she thought absently. She feels flattered but also slightly creeped out. Not that she hadn't done it herself.

Caroline eyed her curiously but went about getting her purse and shoes, they're having dinner with Bonnie at The Grill in thirty minutes, Caroline probably wants to leave early to make room for gossip.

"What the hell do you mean; fuck no?" Damon sounded slightly outraged. Which, to be fair, is probably warranted, she's said no to him twice in the span of how many days? Got to be a first for the poor guy, she thought to herself, highly amused by the Vampire's behavior.

"I thought we talked about this before- when a person says no they usually mean-" Nova spoke as she followed Caroline out the house and headed out towards Nova's car.

"What do you want?" Damon cut her off before she could finish.

Nova thought about it for a moment, she internally cursed as all of her plans for solitude are dashed, again. "A favor," Nova spoke after a moment, unlocking her car doors for Caroline, they both got in the car.

"...A sexual favor?" Damon asked teasingly.

"No...a favor- one I can cash in whenever I want." Nova clarifies with a roll of her eyes, she turned the engine on but waited for a response before she shifted her car out of park.

Honestly, she's not that easy, she had been kidding, sort of, when she told Bonnie she wouldn't mind sexual favors in return for her Magical services. Hahaha, magical services. It sounds like a title for pornography, Nova struggled not to giggle. Caroline shot her an odd look as the blonde played with the radio station.

"...Deal." Damon agreed reluctantly, as though she was threatening his manhood. Not to say she wouldn't do it, but she thinks it's an old threat that's been used a little too much this week.

Maybe next week.

"Good, I'll text you when and where to pick me up," Nova said in return to his agreement. Her father is still away on business but he's been known to surprise them with how he'll be gone one moment and home the next.

The last thing she needs is Damon Salvatore meeting her father.

Her father might know about Supernatural Beings but that doesn't mean they've actually sat down to talk about his daughter being a Supernatural Being, he definitely knows that they know what they are, but they've all avoided the topic like the plague. "And bring flowers, no roses, I have enough roses to last me a year." She added absently, still lost in her thoughts.

What? She likes flowers, she used to think them pretty but frivolous and a waste of money; but now that she can literally connect with Nature, it's more meaningful than something pretty to look at.

"Anything else?" Damon asked sarcastically.

"No, I think that's all," Nova answered after a long pause, seriously considering adding anything else to her list of demands.

"Good."

And with that, he hung up without a goodbye, which, like, rude.

She conveniently overlooks that she does the same thing on occasion.

 

* * *

 

 

"I thought you didn't want to go?" Bonnie asked her sister as the three of them sat at a table in the Mystic Grill, it was packed, as it usually is at this time of night.

Nova's eternally grateful she decided not to work part-time here as a waitress, she hates being dependent on her father's money, but she hates socializing with people even more, no matter how good she is at it. Living in a small town like this where everyone knows everyone business, you either socialize with someone daily; or end up stamped as a serial killer.

But she'd rather socialize with people she likes than people she'd never normally interact without held at gunpoint or fangpoint.

Nova shrugged at Bonnie's question, dipping a fry in ketchup before throwing it into her mouth. "I don't," She said before grabbing another french fry.

Bonnie suddenly looked concerned, catching Caroline- who'd been previously been texting- attention. "Is he making you go with him?" Bonnie whispered worriedly to her sister. Caroline relaxed at Bonnie's question and snorted in amusement.

"No one can make Nova do anything she doesn't want to," Caroline stated confidently. Nova pointed at Caroline with a fry, "What she said," Nova said to her sister sharing a grin with Caroline.

"I'm just worried, he just seems a little dangerous, sexy, but dangerous, and much older than us," Bonnie said to them putting a subtle emphasis on the last part for her sister, reassured her sister wasn't being threatened but still worried.

Caroline finally pulled away from her phone to pay attention to the conversation. "Older sexy danger guy? Is that going to be official witch twitter tweet?" Caroline asked teasingly before raising her hand for a refill on their soda's.

Bonnie rolled her eyes at Caroline's teasing while Nova ate her second Mystic Grill burger of the night. "You're hilarious, Care. I think I've heard enough witch jokes to become a comedian." Bonnie returned to the amused blonde before stealing a fry from Nova's plate, Nova chose to ignore the theft, quite graciously might she add.

Caroline managed to finally get a waitress to give them a refill, unfortunately, it was Vicki who was waiting on their table tonight and not Matt. "Could we get a refill?" Caroline asked Vicki with a cheerful smile on her face. Vicki nodded and left their table without another word or look in their direction.

"God, who pissed in her cornflakes this morning," Caroline said to the girls as soon as the elder girl left, her cheerful smile gone as quick as it came. Bonnie shrugged and continued to steal from Nova's plate,

which Nova ignores to answer the rhetorical question, "It has nothing to do with her cornflakes, it's me, Donovan and I don't get along very well, remember?" Nova reminded her friend with a quirk of her lips.

"But you'd think she'd gotten over whatever you did to make her hate you- with you keeping her from bleeding out in the middle of the woods and all," Caroline commented and Bonnie nodded in agreement. "Why do you automatically think it's anything I did to make her face scrunch up in hatred every time she sees my beautiful face," Nova said giving her friend a look of offense, who rolled her eyes in response.

Bonnie snorted in amusement, "Because it's you," Bonnie responded for Caroline, looking at her in amusement as Nova clutched her heart in mock pain at Bonnie's response and Caroline's quick nod in agreement. If Nova wants someone to like her, they'll tolerate her if not love her, if she doesn't, they're usually on her bad side, a place where no man returns from unscathed.

They all went quiet as Vicki set down three new glasses of root beer with ice before leaving towards another table without a word.

"It was a mutual thing, I don't even remember who started it," Nova told them honestly after a minute of silence between them passed.

Nova and Vicki haven't ever really gotten along, maybe tolerated each other for Matt's sake, when they were younger.

But that ship sailed- or crashed and burned in more likely terms- when they got older and Vicki became an addict. Nova is somewhat sympathetic for the girl though; Vicki had to take care of Matt when their mother was busy getting drunk during work hours, eventually getting fired and sleeping with half of the town.

But then Vicki grew up and picked up some of her mother's bad habits and, well, Matt started taking care of Vicki instead of the other way around. It irked Nova, more so than the bad habits, she has more than enough bad habits that she'd be a major hypocrite if she judged Vicki because of her own.

But Vicki kept leaving her teenage brother to take care of himself, just like their mother did to them.

She made sure to let her anger be known through passive aggressiveness and rude quips whenever they're in the same room together, Vicki responded in kind.

Caroline shrugged before changing the subject, apparently bored with the current one, "Are you sure your Grams will even let you take 'older sexy danger guy' to the founder's party as a date?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes at her friend's words while Nova finished her burger in one big bite. "I don't know, I haven't gotten around to telling her- besides it's not a date." Nova responded to her friend after finishing her food.

A date implies interest in there being more dates and then later, maybe becoming a couple. She doesn't know what Damon wants at the Lockwood Mansion- more than likely something to do with Katherine- but she knows it has nothing to do with 'wooing' her.

Caroline looked at her incredulously before nodding in an indulgent manner that annoyed Nova to no end. Bonnie quickly changed the subject before they could start bickering.

* * *

 

The next day was spent preparing for the Founders party.

Nova kept to her word and gifted Grams at breakfast with Emily Bennett's Grimoire and Nova's own messy writing on a scrap sheet of paper she used to rewrite the spell she found in her many great-somethings Grimoire. The spell isn't very complex, at least, it wasn't when she got finished rewriting it. Rewriting a spell is complex but easy compared to creating a spell from scratch. Creating a spell from scratch is trial and error, but when you rewrite one the 'foundation' of the spell is already paved. All was needed was a few minor change of wording and add a few things to make it less binding.

The only problem with showing Grams and Bonnie the spell was that to show them the spell would mean having to show them every detail of the spell, from the wording to the promises made on both sides. Meaning they'd figure out about the fact if this deal goes sideways, it'd kill the one who broke it.

The spell prevents them from not only from actively trying to kill each other, but it prevents them from having someone else do it for them. Thoughts of killing each other don't count, but Nature is funny like that, it doesn't care if it's accidental or by someone else's hand.

If her side of the deal isn't fulfilled or mutually broken within a certain portion of her lifespan, she'll die. Sadly, Nova couldn't hide one detail of the spell without it looking suspicious, so she had to come clean about the spell details.

That was fun.

She's just glad it's over with, one less secret to come back and bite her in the ass. They also took it surprisingly well; meaning there was yelling, some minor threats of Magically locking her in her room, and then some very reluctant acceptance and all was well in the world. Even though Bonnie wouldn't speak to her throughout the car ride to Elena's house.

It's all good. Really it's fine, they've never gone three hours without speaking to each other. Bonnie has to speak to her at some point, Nova thought to herself reassuringly.

Bonnie knocked on The Gilbert's front door as they stand on the front porch with bags filled with the things they're going to wear in hand. There's a long stretch of awkward silence as they wait for someone to open the front door, she thinks she can hear crickets in the distance, that's how awkward the silence is.

Nova opened her mouth to say something, what, she has no clue, but anything is better than this awkward silence, only she never get's to say anything because Caroline opened the front door, cutting off whatever she had been going to say.

Nova clamped her mouth shut as Caroline opened the door wider. "Thank God you're both here, I need someone to curl the back of my hair, I can't quite reach it," Caroline said as she yanked both of them in by the upper arm.

"Why couldn't you get Elena to do it?" Bonnie asked as the twins shared a look of confusion as they're dragged away from the door and into the home. Bonnie completely forgetting she'd been ignoring Nova for the past thirty minutes, relief washes over Nova at the acknowledgment, no matter how minor.

"She was- until she tried to kill me with the curling iron," Caroline stated over-dramatically at the question. "I said I was sorry, Care. You were the one who kept distracting me," Elena spoke up from the top of the staircase, frowning down at a nonplussed Caroline.

"I was just curious about your rating of Matt versus Stefan's kissing skills- if I'd known I was going to get burned by a curling iron, I would have never asked," Caroline remarked as they all walked into Elena's bedroom.

Nova laughed at the conversation before throwing the bag on the bed."It's a valid question, Elena," Nova told in mock-seriousness, Elena rolled her eyes and Bonnie snorted in amusement.

They each went about getting dressed at a relaxed pace; Bonnie helped Caroline with her hair in the bathroom while Nova and Elena painted each other's nails and helped each other with their own hair. After Nova finished helping Elena pull her hair half up and half down, Nova reluctantly trusted Elena with her own. "Will you relax? You're acting like I'm going to kill you," Elena said exasperatedly as Nova shifted nervously for the third time in a row.

"Course you're not going to kill me, I cook for you," Nova responded with a grin, still eyeing the curling iron in Elena's hand apprehensively. Elena rolled her eyes before going back to Nova's hair with a sigh, "Yeah, that's the only reason I wouldn't kill you- because you cook," Elena stated with an amused grin. Nova shrugged with a grin before going silent as Elena curled her long locks.

There's something she's forgetting, something's been bothering her all morning, ever since the Founders party was mentioned really. Not to mention tonight is the night Bonnie and Nova come clean to their best friends about what they are, she just wants to get this whole day over with at this point, the wait is killing her.

"You're quiet, something on your mind?" Elena asked curiously when Nova stayed quiet a moment too long.

"We should have a slumber party, we haven't had one in ages," Nova avoided the question with ease before her mouth could betray her by blurting out everything racing through her mind.

"Oooh, that's a great idea!" Caroline said excitedly walking out the bathroom with Bonnie in tow. Both of them already have their hair curled and styled. Bonnie and Nova share a glance before looking back towards their excited friends, "We can't wait," The twins said together with equal feigned enthusiasm that the other two girls didn't catch as they went about planning for the slumber party.

After Elena finished pulling Nova's hair into a fishtail with a curled ponytail, they started to put on their makeup. There was lots giggling, foul language, gossiping, and the smell of different perfumes.

Nova pulled on her [dress](https://www.polyvore.com/supernova_vampire_diaries_fanfiction/set?id=228212153) after helping Elena into her's, Nova chose a dress with a spaghetti strap dress, the black lace v neckline is a little too deep for an event like this, but the length of the dress made up for the amount of cleavage she's showing. It would have been shorter, if not for her lack of height. "I'm so short," Nova said in dismay at the fact the dress is longer than it looked online.

Caroline looked up from pulling on her shoes, "And you're just noticing this now, or..." Caroline said teasingly as Nova rolled her eyes and threw a makeup brush at the still grinning blonde as Elena and Bonnie laughed. Their laughter is cut off by a phone ringing, "If it's mine, just press decline," Nova said as all of them looked for the phone that's ringing.

Elena found hers and held up her ringing phone for them to see, "It's mine," Elena announced before answering it as they all went back to getting ready. "Hello? Hi, Mrs. Lockwood," Elena spoke to the person on the other end of the phone, they all shared a look at the name.

They've all had their moments of being under the.. attention of Mrs. Lockwood, she's not a demon or anything, but the woman can be just as intimidating as Caroline when she wants something, only bitchier about it. If Nova can remember correctly, the older woman is after the 'Jonathan Gilbert's watch. She's still not sure what to do about that, the whole thing with the stupid watch had started things as much as the Tomb opening will- did, whatever, tenses are going to kill her brain cells one day.

But she's not sure if things will go as planned as it did on the show, her memories of the show are sketchy at best, and things change, her being here changed things, the future can change as fast as the tick of a clock does. "What do you mean?" Elena said with a confused frown.

The three other girls in the room go about pretending to do other things as they listen in on the phone conversation. "Are you sure? Because I saw it, I know I did." Elena said to Mrs. Lockwood over the phone with a confused look on her face.

Elena's however, seems to have a thought as to where the watch went and nodded to whatever Mrs. Lockwood said, "Let me check, mhm, I will find it and bring it. Okay, goodbye." Elena said absently an annoyed look on her as she hung up. Somehow, Nova doesn't think she's angry at Mrs. Lockwood.

"What's wrong?" Bonnie asked, curious despite herself.

Elena, however, doesn't answer and just storms out the room. The girls all share a look before rushing towards the open door to shamelessly spy on the Gilbert sibling showdown they could hear from Elena's bedroom door. They could hear Jeremy speaking, but they couldn't hear what he was saying very well.

They leaned out the doorway more as Elena spoke, "Where is it?-" They heard Elena say faintly.

"What watch?" They heard the reply from Jeremy, they exchanged looks at the obvious lie. Nova thought she taught Jeremy to lie better than that, she threw away that thought and paid back attention to the argument happening in Jeremy's room.

"-Look, Mrs. Lockwood just called me, freaking out, it was on the list- she can't find it anywhere- she thinks- the one who lost it." The girl's eavesdropping in Elena's doorway could hear glimpses of what Elena was saying but not everything.

Damn this solidly built house, Nova thought to herself in scorn. They could try the bathroom in Elena's room, as it connects to Jeremy's room, but listening from there gives a higher risk of being caught, Nova knows by experience. "Maybe Tyler took it," Jeremy said making all three girl's roll their eyes.

Like, fuck, they beat the shit out of each other, well, it was more Tyler beating the shit out of Jeremy and Jeremy himself only getting one solid punch in. But isn't that a dude thing - beat the shit out of each other and get over it? Or maybe that's just for people who had actually been friends before. "If I go online am I going to find it on eBay? Is that how you pay for your pot?" Nova heard Elena ask her brother when she came out of her thoughts, again.

"Screw you, I would never sell this-" Nova could hear Jeremy say angrily, all three of the girls cringed at Jeremy's offended tone.

"Then why did you take it then?" Elena asked her offended brother.

"It's supposed to be mine-" They could hear Jeremy say to his sister angrily, they should probably leave the doorway before they get caught.

"Hi, girls," They hear a voice say, the three girls crammed in the doorway jump at the sound.

Nova's thoughts of being caught totally jinxed them, Jenna smiled at them with an amused grin on her face as she walked out of her room and towards the staircase. "Hi..." The girls said in unison, all three of them trying hard not to look guilty; Nova and Caroline succeeding at it more than Bonnie, who sported a guilty look on her face until Caroline elbowed her.

"I'll see you girls at the Founders Party?" Jenna asked them still looking at them in amusement.

They all nodded, somewhat dumbly, and smiled at the woman that caught them eavesdropping. Jenna took one last look amused look at them before leaving the hallway and soon the home altogether.

Sadly, it was obvious the conversation they'd been eavesdropping on is over when they hear Jeremy kick Elena out, and without a shared glance this time, Caroline, Nova, and Bonnie hurry to get out the doorway.

Bonnie quickly settled on the bed where she'd been sitting on before, Caroline sat on the desk chair, and Nova took the window seat with rushed steps. "I can't wait to have that slumber party. Nova, great idea," Caroline said as soon as they could hear Elena's heeled footsteps in the hallway.

"I am known for my great ideas," Nova bragged jokingly.

Bonnie huffed in amusement, her mouth opened to no doubt remind her sister of all the shit ideas she's had in the past but whatever she was going to say, died on her tongue as Elena came in the room. Elena took one look at Bonnie's guilty face before tilting her head up at the ceiling and sighing loudly, "You heard everything," Elena stated rather than questioned as she looked back to her now guilty looking friends.

"In our defense, you left the door open and weren't being very quiet," Caroline defended weakly to an exasperated Elena, who waved it off and shrugged. "It's fine, you've all have heard worse arguments, let's just finish getting ready." Elena said with a half-hearted grin as the rest of them nodded in agreement.

Soon they're all ready and checking themselves out in the bathroom mirror, "We look hot," Caroline stated, looking at herself in the mirror more than the rest of them. Nova rolled her eyes and cocked her hip as Elena checked Bonnie's teeth for lipstick stains.

"We always look hot," Nova responded in a 'duh' manner while Caroline nodded in agreement.

"Should we be looking hot though?" Bonnie asked after checking Elena over for makeup smudges, "It is the Founders Party- our family will be there." Bonnie clarified at the confused looks she was getting.

"It's too late to change now, we're already late," Elena said adjusting Nova's ponytail. "Mhm, seventeen years too late," Nova quipped to the girls, earning laughs all around.

They could hear the doorbell echoing throughout the house, "That'll be our dates," Elena stated nervously. Nova and Elena had both texted their dates fifteen minutes ago. Nova wishes she could hit fast forward on the whole day so she could just get to the part where she can go to sleep, the day has just gotten started and she already wants to go hide underneath her covers with Merlin.

"I'll get it, why don't you give that to who it belongs to," Nova said gently to Elena, who's staring at the 'Gilbert' watch in her grip, clearly lost in thought. Elena looked up at her friend, slightly startled before she looked back at the watch and nodded in agreement.

The watch might not work without her Ancestor's Magic, but at the end of the day it's just another trinket to Nova, and it means more to Jeremy than it does to her, considering she has a much more valuable heirloom, Emily's Grimoire. Letting Jeremy hold onto it for as long as he can is no skin off her back.


	10. Confession Time; Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cake, Champagne, & Laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello.....I'm getting a little better at updating on this website, a little....This chapter was fun to write, I hope it's fun to read.

"Would you stop pouting," Damon ordered Nova as they waited, arm in arm, to be let in the doors of the Lockwood Mansion.

"I'm not pouting, I'm ignoring you, there's a difference," She replied dryly, still not looking at the Vampire, and okay, maybe there is a very small pout on her lips, but she will never admit it, never.

"I thought you were joking about the flowers- believe it or not, you are not a very easy person to read," Damon complained as they moved up in the line. Nova rolls her eyes and shifts on her heels.

She's not sure if the height the pumps are giving her is worth the pain it's going to give her at the end of the night. "I asked for flowers, not a kidney," She spoke with all the sass she could muster, finally turning her gaze towards him.

Before he could say something scathing back to her, she groaned and hid her face in Damon's shoulder. "Are you having a vision, is someone about to die horribly?" He asked his voice amused despite the fact he was asking if someone died.

"No, asshole- that's Mrs. Lockwood," She raised her head and pointed subtly at the elegantly dressed woman greeting people at the large doorway, Damon looked towards where she's pointing.

"And you look like you swallowed something sour because...?" Damon trailed off as he looked back to the sheepish Witch with a raised brow; she's not very embarrassed by what happened, but Nova can admit it hadn't been one of her brightest moments.

"It's nothing, I just haven't been left alone with the woman since she caught me skinny dipping in her fountain, surrounded by a bunch of drunk teenagers," Nova answered casually as they came forward, towards the woman in question.

"Nova, don't you just look gorgeous," Mrs. Lockwood greeted them surprisingly warmly. Nova, though slightly surprised by the greeting, took it in stride and gave the elder woman a bright smile.

She's not sure if the smile she's receiving is fake, but it's better than things being awkward.

"Thank you, Mrs. Lockwood, this is my date, Damon Salvatore," Nova introduced the amused man beside her reluctantly.

"Oh, well, come in," Mrs. Lockwood looked slightly shocked but was quick to cover it with ease; probably by the age difference, and the fact that Nova usually attends these things with friends, or not at all, but invited them into the mansion all the same.

Which, seems very stupid of her, considering the woman knows the existence of Vampires. But maybe she doesn't know Vampire's need to be invited the home, from what she vaguely remembers, the Council didn't know about daylight rings until Damon and Stefan came into town, mostly because they don't know about Witches being real as Vampires.

"Lovely to meet you, I've been looking forward to this party for quite a while," Damon smirked charmingly at Mrs. Lockwood as they walked into the home. Nova became aware of at least one of the things Damon was after coming to this party.

He needs to integrate himself back into Mystic Falls without too much suspicion; being introduced to the Mayor's wife by a well known local is a sure way to do that. She hasn't forgotten that he got himself- or will get himself- on the Founders Council through Caroline's mom.

Nova, for all her racing thoughts, doesn't let the realization show on her face as Damon charms Mrs. Lockwood. "Well, enjoy." Mrs. Lockwood answered eyeing the Vampire a little too long to be casual.

Nova rolled her eyes, seven hells, this town is full with Cougars, just because technically Damon is older than Mrs. Lockwood, doesn't mean that the woman herself knows that, making it all that cringe worthy.

Damon, with one last smirk at Mrs. Lockwood, led her through the Mansion with a hand on her back. The place is crowded with people all over. "Let's get a drink," Damon declared and started leading her to the bar.

"I'll be catch up later," Nova spoke absently, and ignoring the questioning look he sent her, she left towards where she thought she saw someone familiar.

"Grams," Nova called out to the back of who she correctly assumes is her Grams, who turned and smiled at her confused granddaughter.

 

* * *

 

 

"What are you doing here?" Nova asked as they walked arm in arm around the room where there's a dozen of different displays of Mystic Falls historic objects.

Grams despises these Founder Events more than Nova does, mainly because they have proof that a Bennett Witch had lived on these soils before any of the 'Founding Families' had even been born.

Ayanna Bennett had a Journal, which her children had found after she died, the Journal was protected by Magic for years, but the eventual wear and tear of age wore it down until only a few pages were readable; her Grimoire was never found though.

"I thought it was time for me to meet this Damon Salvatore," Grams replied with a sour look as she took in the things on display.

Nova's not sure if the cross look is because of the display itself, or the thought of meeting a Vampire willingly; knowing Grams it's probably both. "...Why? I thought you didn't want anything to do with 'vampire business'," Nova responded with air quotes.

Grams' lips quirk into a smile at her impression of her own words.

She saw the Vampire in question out the corner of her eye, probably eavesdropping on their conversation, but she ignored him in favor of paying attention to her Grams.

Sheila turned towards her granddaughter with a look of determination that is known throughout the Bennett bloodline.

"But my granddaughter is already involved, and where one goes- the other one follows. Bonnie would never let you do this alone, and neither would I, sweetheart." Grams spoke with a fierce look in her brown eyes.

Nova sighed and turned to look directly at the spying Vampire, who, despite knowing who he'd been caught, only smirked charmingly and walked over towards them with a drink in hand.

"Well, here's your chance," Nova muttered to Grams as Damon came up to them. This ought to go well, she thought dryly.

Grams turned towards the person her granddaughter was staring at, "Damon Salvatore," He introduced himself with a charming smile that fooled neither of the Bennett's in front of him.

"Sheila Bennett, Nova and Bonnie's grandmother," Grams affirmed ignoring the Vampire's outstretched hand, her eyes as cold as a winter breeze. Damon charming facade cracked somewhat as he let his hand drop.

There's a tense silence as Grams took a good long look at him, eyeing him from head to toe, unlike Mrs. Lockwood's gaze, it wasn't to take in his good looks, it was calculating. Nova stayed silent, neither of them would start a fight in the middle of a party, at least Grams wouldn't, but she also doesn't want to take a side if a fight ever breaks out between them.

Damon is going to become very important to this town, and maybe even to her, but Grams is, well, Grams, her rock, when everyone else turns to Nova for help or advice, she turns to Grams.

"I'll leave you two to your.. date- I think I see Bonnie," Grams broke her warning gaze with Damon to look to her granddaughter, who smiled weakly as Grams squeezed her hand affectionately before taking her leave.

"I don't think she likes me very much," Damon said in faux-confusion as they watched the elder Witch leave.

Nova snorted in amusement and walked a little closer to the Vampire. "I have no idea why- you are such a good person, the kind of person a grandmother would love for her granddaughter to be associating with," She returned with the same faux-confusion, he smirked at her sarcasm.

Let's be honest though, that fucking smirk is most likely permanently attached to his face.

Damon got distracted by Mystic Falls new couple walking into the room, she watched him for a moment as he stared, obviously lost in thoughts of the past.

Elena is the mirror image of Katherine, no matter how different they are personality wise, she can't image how hard it must be to watch his brother and Katherine's doppelganger be together, must hurt as much as it did when it happened with the actual person.

"If you stare at them any longer I might just get jealous," Nova joked with a grin, trying to get his thoughts back in the present and succeeding, somewhat, but not really.

"I need you to distract Stefan, get him away from Elena for a little while," Damon told her quietly, ignoring her joke, she tilted her head at him curiously. "Uh...and I would want to do that because?" Nova asked with a raised brow.

She's been trying to keep Damon far away from her friends as possible, why the hell would she leave him alone with Elena now.

Damon finally turned his attention to her, his eyes showed his frustration. Cue the mini-staredown.

Nova groaned in defeat after three minutes and he smirked in triumph, she snatched the drink out of his hand just to get that look off of his stupidly attractive face.

It's not her fault the guy has got super intense eyes.

"I want pizza after this," She declared after she chugged down the champagne in one go, he tugged her by the wrist towards the couple and she reluctantly went along with him.

If she'd going to leave her friend with an emotionally damaged Vampire- who is in love with her doppelganger- the least said emotionally damaged Vampire could do is buy her a fucking pizza.

"Whatever, just work your magic," Damon replied ironically as they walked over to the couple that's near the oldest displays.

"Is that Damon Salvatore... and, Stefan Salvatore?" Elena asked her boyfriend with a confused frown as she looked at the original Founders Party guest register.

"The original Salvatore brothers," Damon declared as they came up behind the couple, who turned towards them at the sound of his voice. "Our ancestors, tragic story, actually," Damon continued with a mocking smirk in Stefan's direction.

Nova rolled her eyes before setting the empty glass on a nearby table, she suddenly wishes she had brought her flask with her, vodka would be good right about now.

"We don't need to bore them with stories of the past," Stefan said to his brother as the brother's shared a not so concealed hostile glance.

Elena and Nova shared an 'oh my fucking god, not this again' look.

"It's not boring, Stefan. I'd love to hear more about your family," Elena tried to distract them with a smile, it worked, sort of.

Damon threw another smirk in Stefan's direction that had Stefan clenching his jaw.

It has been confirmed, his smirk is permanently attached to his face.

"Well- I'm bored to tears already, and this asshole won't dance with me," Nova announced pointing at said asshole, who shook his head in a big negative. "Could I borrow your date?" Nova asked her best friend with a hopeful look on her face. She should become an actress- if she manages to survive through this Hellmouth of a town.

"Oh, uh.." Elena trailed off looking at her boyfriend, most likely hesitant to answer for him. "I promise I won't eat him if that's what you're worried about," Nova quipped with a grin that was a little too feral to be innocent, Damon huffed in amusement from the other side of her.

The joke was too good to pass up, she's going to milk the inside jokes all she can, they'll come to understand them soon enough.

"I don't really dance," Stefan denied with a head shake, but his brother isn't going to let that little lie go.

"Oh, sure he does, you should see him- waltz, the jitterbug, the moonwalk, he does it all," Damon told them as Stefan stared at him in mild annoyance masked by a polite smile.

"Please, Elena?" Nova asked, pulling out the puppy dog eyes Elena had used on her not too long ago.

"It's up to Stefan," Elena answered with a shrug, not very bothered by the request, but reluctant to let Stefan go all the same.

Despite her teasing and being able to admire Stefan's beauty from an artistic point of view, she'd never seriously flirt with any of her friend's boyfriends; it's just in her nature to flirt with pretty much everyone she likes remotely, everyone who knows her, knows that.

Stefan was obviously going to decline again, but something obviously changed his mind as he held out a hand for Nova.

"You know what- why not, I'd love to," Stefan spoke with a smile, obviously up to something. There's no way he'd want to leave his brother alone with his girlfriend.

Despite him doing exactly what she wanted him to do, him agreeing so easily made her slightly wary, she makes sure it doesn't show on her features as she gave Damon her clutch, and accepted his hand with a smile, they left their dates alone with each other; just like Damon wanted.

 

 

Nova went through everything Stefan could want as he led her outside, underneath the brightly lit canopy, and towards the crowded dance floor, there was a soft melody she didn't know playing, her racing thoughts calmed slightly as he led her into a simple waltz.

"Not bad for someone who supposedly doesn't dance," She commented with a teasing grin as she let him lead her around the dance floor with expert ease.

He tilted his head in acknowledgment that he'd been caught in a small fib."Your not half bad yourself," He replied, still looking at her searchingly.

Probably trying to figure out a way to ask whatever he wants to ask without offending her.

"In a town like this you either pick up dance lessons- or look like an idiot in front of a bunch of entitled snobs," She explained with a small shrug. Despite her complaining, the dances, and events thrown in Mystic fall never really bothered her; she enjoys it in fact, despite how annoying and inaccurate their entitled history can be.

The novelty of dressing up and dancing at grown up parties never really wore off as she got older, dancing is just another thing she enjoys when she's lost in her thoughts too often, it's freeing in a way that reminds her of practicing Magic.

She has fond memories from both of her lives that involve dancing.

"Why don't you ask whatever it is that you've been dying to ask me," Nova said coming back to the present with Stefan, who has been watching her calculatingly for the past five minutes.

"Damon asked you to distract me, my question is; why are you- a Bennett witch, and Elena's friend- helping him?" Stefan asked without pause as they went from a simple waltz to just standing in the middle of the dance floor.

"We have a deal, I help Damon get what he wants, Damon doesn't harm or kill those I love," She admitted, not seeing the harm in telling the truth. She never put keeping the deal a secret in her part of the deal; just like Damon never put not getting her friends stuck in the middle of The Salvatore's shit fest in his.

She knows that's exactly what he's doing now, not to mention the fact Elena had confessed to them while getting ready that Damon had tried to kiss her at the game. Elena had only told them out of concern for Nova and Damon's 'relationship', Nova had reassured Elena, once again, that nothing romantic is going between them.

"And you think he's going to keep this deal?" Stefan asked disbelievingly, she rolled her eyes and folded her arms as they broke apart, that had to have been the shortest dance she's ever had. "No, I'm not stupid, it's magically bound," She answered defensively, not explaining what 'Magically Bound' means.

She's sure he's smart enough to figure it out for himself.

"And what does Damon want?" Stefan asked with no subtly as they moved off the crowded dance floor and towards the drink table.

And the guy had been doing so well at being Slytherin, guess he's better at half-truths and dodging questions than subtly manipulating people.

Nova half-heartedly checked to see if Damon was nearby, seeing no one, she leaned in closer to Stefan, as though she was going to share a secret. "That's a secret," Nova responded after a dramatic pause, pointer finger on her smirking lips.

Stefan leaned back and sighed in frustration just as she felt someone slide an arm around her waist.

"What'd we miss?" Damon asked as Elena slid between an amused Nova and a frustrated Stefan.

"We were just chatting- drink, Damon?" Stefan questioned holding a champagne glass up questioningly, his question was innocent enough but his eyes were taunting.

"No, thanks, I'll pass." Damon declined with a polite smile so fake it hurt to look at.

Nova and Elena share an awkward glance, it seems as though it's always the two of them getting caught in between these two assholes.

But at least Nova isn't as clueless as she was a couple hours ago, pieces of the today's puzzle came together.

To test it out her theory, she took the glass out of Stefan's grip, and ignoring the looks she was receiving from Elena, she took a long sip out the glass. Bingo; she'd know the not so subtle taste of vervain anywhere.

Elena sighed at Nova's rude behavior but didn't say anything about it as she held out a hand to Stefan. "Stefan, do you have another dance in you?" Elena asked with a smile as Stefan took her hand with an equally bright smile.

"Absolutely." Stefan answered and led his date out to the dance floor.

Damon, for all he probably makes fun of Stefan for brooding, started to brood as he stared at them dancing. "Are you really going to stare at them all night?" Nova asked after finishing her second drink of the night, at this rate she's going to end up drunk without meaning to.

Damon ignored her, and Nova, well, she doesn't like being ignored, she likes doing the ignoring part, not so much the other way around.

Annoyed, she started to walk away with a huff, she didn't come to this party to be ignored by her 'date' all night.

"And where do you think you're going?" Damon asked but didn't take his eyes off of the now arguing couple.

"There's a piece cake with my name on it," She responded without looking back, any protest he might have said were drowned out by the crowd as she walked towards where Elena stormed off from Stefan, who glared at his brother across the room.

Nova caught up with Elena inside the mansion and locked arms as soon as she got close enough.

Elena, for her part, didn't even jump, knowing who it was before she even turned her guilty looking brown eyes on Nova's annoyed ones.

"Come on, let's go find Bon-Bon and Carebear- I think we need cake- and champagne." Nova sighed and Elena nodded in agreement and they started to look for the girls.

* * *

 

 

There were no questions asked when they finally did find Caroline and Bonnie, the girls just took one look at them before they all linked arms together. The first thing they did was steal a bottle of champagne, well, Caroline stole it from the serving table while no one was looking while Nova stole half of a cake.

How does one steal half of a cake you ask?

That's easy, you find the cake, half eaten by the rest of the guest, of course, then you have your sister distract the cute server who watches the serving table.

And then you steal the half-cake with little to no remorse.

After that, they settled into the first empty sitting room they could find, and hid away from the party, sharing the cake and passing the bottle around. "You shouldn't feel bad. Okay, Elena? You've shared all of these really personal things with him, and he's just- like a mystery novel," Caroline said slurring slightly, leaning back on the crowded couch next to Nova.

The blonde was a really tipsy, despite all her party girl habits, the girl was a little bit of a lightweight.

Nova looked at her friend in amusement and gently started prying the champagne from Caroline's fingers, exchanging it for the cake plate and single fork, which Caroline traded for eagerly as she dug into the almost completely devoured red velvet cake.

"Exactly, he shouldn't blame his brother for not wanting to open up," Bonnie said in agreement with Caroline's words, no matter how slurred they had been, her head leaning on Nova's arm.

"He should just admit he's not ready to tell you instead of making it seem like Damon's fault, even if it probably was," Nova added after washing down a mouth full of cake with champagne, she passed it on to Bonnie, who took a small sip and passed it to a forlorn Elena.

"I just feel terrible because I said that I wouldn't get in the middle of it- and then that's exactly what I did, I got all snotty," Elena replied lifting her head from Bonnie's to take a sip out of the bottle.

"Shit, parental incoming, quick hide the evidence," Nova announced lifting her head from Caroline's shoulder.

She spotted Mrs. Lockwood making her way around a small crowd through the glass doors of the sitting room, the only thing that partially hid what they're doing is the sheer drapes on the glass door.

They all acted simultaneously; Caroline and Nova hurried to place the cake on the floor and gently kick it underneath the couch, or is it a chaise, she doesn't know all she knows it's a really fancy couch that probably cost more than her entire wardrobe.

While they did that, Elena stuffed the bottle under the pillow case behind her and then they all straightened up enough to look soberer than they are, and started to chat about random things so they didn't look suspicious.

Mrs. Lockwood, having finally gotten finished greeting everyone who stopped her on her way, opened the closed glassed door and sat down on the other couch- chaise- in front of them.

"Elena, honey, there you are. I noticed the watch still isn't in the collection," Mrs. Lockwood doesn't waste any time getting to the reason why she came there.

The woman could at least greet the rest of them, but doesn't even spare a glance at them, focusing on Elena with laser focus.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Lockwood, I couldn't find it, I guess it's still packed up in my parents' stuff somewhere." Elena lied easily with an apologetic look on her face.

Nova isn't sure if she should feel proud at how well she taught her friends to lie, or worried.

Meh, she can manage both emotions pretty well.

"I see, well, please let me know if you do find it." Mrs. Lockwood asked with an obviously fake smile on her face.

Elena nodded with a strained smile, dropping it with a sigh when the elder woman finally left.

There's a second of silence as they all waited for the door to close behind Mrs. Lockwood.

"God, what a bitch," Caroline proclaimed as soon as the glass door was closed again. Nova snorted in amusement before grabbing the cake from under the furniture, maybe it's a good thing they didn't have to speak to Mrs. Lockwood. Otherwise one of them might've insulted her drunkenly.

"Care!" Bonnie scolded half-heartedly as Elena pulled out the bottle from behind her. "What? You know it's true." Caroline shrugged unapologetically; they all shared a look, bursting into drunken giggles.

 

 

"What are you doing up here, Spike?" Nova asked finally finding her elusive 'date', snooping in the upper area of the mansion.

He sighed before turning around and walking towards her as she walked up the steps towards him on unsteady feet. "Looking for you," He responded and she snorted in amusement at the obvious lie.

But she's a little drunk, and her feet hurt, so she's grateful when Damon grabs her hand and guides her up the rest of the stairs; even if it definitely isn't because he's suddenly remembered how to be a gentleman and probably more to do with not getting caught.

"I'm ready to go home, I danced with Caroline for too long- my feet are killing me and- I need pizza," Nova whined as if the world was going to end if she doesn't get her pizza.

Damon nodded, apparently not listening to her as he guided her by the shoulders to the front of what appeared to be an office. "Okay, just wait a minute, keep a look out," Damon ordered before going in the office without waiting for her to agree or refuse.

Nova shrugged, feeling kind of excited instead of annoyed at being ordered around, it kind of feels like she's a spy on an infiltration mission. "Roger that, Spike," She responded enthusiastically, suddenly more alert than she was two seconds ago as her eyes glued themselves to the staircase.

Damon stopped just as he was entering the room to look at her weirdly, "...Don't ever say that again," Damon told her seriously before walking into the room without waiting for a reply.

"Roger that, asshole," She muttered under her breath with a roll of her eyes.

"Heard that," Damon called out from within the office, she kept her eyes on the staircase.

She's doing her job earnestly despite the sass she's giving him. "Really? Was it your super spidey senses that alerted you to my sass? Shocker," She muttered shifting on her heels clumsily.

All she wants to do now is get out this dress, throw her heels back in her closet, eat pizza and drown in her cat's fur.

"Heard that too," He commented leading her by the hand out the hallway and towards the stairs. "What'd you steal," Nova asked somewhat rhetorically, considering she knows just what he stole.

But when he showed her the crystal in between his fingers, it just confirmed everything for her. He came to steal not just any crystal, but Emily Bennett's talisman.

If Nova remembered correctly Emily channeled the power of the comet and used the talisman to seal the Vampires into Tomb and protect them from the fire at the same time. It's the reason Damon protected Emily's bloodline, he thought she was protecting Katherine in the process; it's also one of the reasons Damon hasn't tried to kill her.

The Bennett Magic that is literally bathing in the crystal calls out to her, like a siren's song, the urge to swipe it from Damon's hands is over whelming, her hand twitched, itching to grab it.

Damon slid the crystal into his pocket before she could do something stupid, like knock the Vampire out cold and pry the gem from his grip, "What is it," She asked finally coming to her senses and putting the facade of not knowing too much in place.

He looked at her for a moment as they stopped in the middle of the staircase, as though he was contemplating something, probably on whether to tell her the truth or not. "Ingredient number one," Damon finally said after a long moment, not lying but not going into details.

"It must be pretty powerful, I can practically taste the magic coming off it," She commented nonchalantly as they moved down the stairs and back towards the ongoing party. He hummed but didn't give her an answer to her subtle prodding.

"I'm going to go find my sister and Grams, and then we're leaving- and you are buying me pizza," She said turning towards him and poking him on his chest with her clutch.

"And why would I do that?" Damon asked with a raised brow, proving to her that he hadn't been listening to her.

She doesn't want to sound like a cliche, but ugh, men.

"Because I helped you steal something from a friends house. I'm just so young and naive and I feel a little used-" Nova started to get over emotionally as crocodile tears made its way down her face. "Fine," Damon gritted out after giving a worried passerby a charming smile, he glared at her as her tears ended as quickly as they came.

"Good," Nova chirped back, wiping her tears she gave him a bright smile, her ponytail hit him in the face as she turned on her heel.

 

She somehow got lost, it might be because of her absent-mindedness, or because she's still a little drunk, or probably both.

Nova received a text after stumbling her way out the mansion and outside, she pulled her phone out of her clutch as it vibrated.

'Grams left. Care drunk, we're taking her back to Lena's b4 Sherrif finds her - Bonnie'

'Lena w u 2?- Nova'

'Yeah, Stefan ditched her - Bonnie'

Nova clutched her phone in her hand and opted to go back to find her date as a bad feeling wormed its way down her spine.

Nova soon found him by pure chance as she wandered around the mansion's grounds, far away from the party but near enough to the driveway. Unfortunately, when she found him, she saw him on the ground with a giant needle that must have vervain in it, sticking out his back.

She quickly hid behind the bushes when she noticed Stefan picking up his unconscious brother. "Fuck, fuckity fuck, shit.." She mouthed more than she whispered so she wouldn't get caught as she watched Zach Salvatore help Stefan put Damon in the back of a car's trunk.

She thought because of the deal, and because Caroline hadn't been treated like a personal blood bag that she could avoid this shit, so more shit won't happen. Boy, was she wrong, 'fate' decided to kick her in the ass.

She internally cursed in every language she knew for the few minutes it took for them to drive off.

Don't panic, he won't die, Stefan won't kill him, no matter how much the brothers loathe each other, they also love each other too much to let the other die. Suffer, hell yes. Die, hell no; but Damon will definitely be killing a long list of people and Nova probably won't be able to save them all.

Saving people she's not emotionally invested in is more of Bonnie's thing. Speaking of Bonnie; 'I think I might need a ride- Nova' She hurriedly texted her sister.

After checking to make sure they had really left, she made her way on unsteady feet to where Damon had been stabbed in the back, literally.

Magic guided her heeled feet to a spot in the grass where she can see something sparkling in the garden lights, she picked it up and wasn't surprised to see Emily's talisman gripped between her fingers, the power of the talisman hummed, warm between her fingertips.

* * *

 When they got back to Elena's, they all changed into [pajama's](https://www.polyvore.com/vampire_diaries_fanfiction/set?id=228212237) they'd all left behind some time ago, and after eating what little was left of the lasagna leftovers, and forcing Caroline to drink water, they quickly fell asleep, the four of them cramped on Elena's bed.

Nova woke up peacefully with her head pillowed on Caroline's shoulder and Elena's knee digging into her back uncomfortably as the taller teen spooned her. Despite the fact that it was slightly painful, the sight of her best friends sleeping peacefully was enough to melt her heart.

They're so cute, she thought as a sleepy smile appeared on her face.

Nova's eyes connected with Bonnie from the other side of Caroline and they shared a smile, "What time is it," Nova whispered taking care not to speak too loud.

Bonnie grabbed her phone from the nightstand next to her, "Almost seven," Bonnie answered after a moment, her voice equally quiet.

"Why are we even up then," Caroline asked sleepily, startling the twins and jolting Elena awake in the process.

"Wha-" Elena started to speak her eyes blearily opening, Nova sighed and lamented that the moment of peace was officially over.

"Go back to sleep, I'm going to go fix breakfast," Nova spoke quietly, shuffling out the bed slowly.

Elena, who had barely been awake in the first place, went back to sleep without a problem. "Pancakes, please," Caroline asked sleepily scooting closer to Elena, who latched onto the blonde like a teddy bear. "Do you need help?" Bonnie asked after shooting the sleeping duo a grin.

"Nah, it's fine, get some more sleep, I'll call you down when it's ready." Nova waved away the help, and finally managed to get out the sheets with minimal stumbling.

Bonnie reluctantly laid back down as Nova went into the bathroom.

Nova found the toothbrush she leaves over and brushed her teeth, washed her face and fifteen minutes later she was creeping back out the bathroom. She tip toed out the room, and into the hall, taking extra care to pay attention to which wood panels she stepped on.

She's been in this house enough times to know which ones creak and which ones don't.

The first thing that Nova did was make the coffee, thankfully, it's one thing the Gilbert's make sure to buy.

Then she turned on the Pandora app on her phone, and did as asked, and started making pancakes. From scratch, seeing as the pre-made kind spoiled about three months ago, she threw it away with a sickened frown on her lips.

Nova was just taking the last pancake out the skillet when she heard footsteps come down the stairs. "Nova," Jenna said in surprise coming into the kitchen with a baseball bat in hand. Nova turned towards Jenna with a raised brow, spatula in hand.

"I thought you were a burglar," Jenna explained when Nova eyed the bat in confusion.

Nova snorted in amusement and started pouring the other woman a cup of coffee, as it is clearly needed. Jenna accepted it gratefully, leaning the bat on the wall with a small clang. "A burglar who cooks breakfast?" Nova asked teasingly, pulling the bacon out the skillet.

"It could happen," Jenna said defensively, taking a seat at the island that the breakfast is spread out on.

Nova just continued to smile before taking a sip out her own cup coffee. "I should be cooking you breakfast, not the other way around," Jenna continued with a slightly guilty look on her face as Nova took the bacon out the skillet and added it to the piling plate.

"It's fine, Jenna, I like cooking besides- we don't want you burning down the house now do we?" Nova said with innocent eyes, hiding her wicked grin behind her coffee cup.

Jenna glared throwing a blueberry she'd been snacking on, at the teen, who dodged just in time.

"Something smells good," Elena commented with a bright smile that made Nova cringe at how bright it was. Yes, Elena was the happy first thing type- unless hungover; but Nova wonders how much that smile is for show as she knows Elena's still pissed about being ditched by Stefan last night.

Bonnie and Nova were two of kind, needing at least two cups of coffees before being able to speak properly.

Caroline, although appearance wise she looked perfectly fine, her glare could melt ice, the blonde is usually perky after doing her morning ritual- but hangovers aren't very fun, especially when you're a lightweight.

"How are you, Caroline?!" Nova asked loudly with an evil grin on her face. Maybe Nova should be a little sympathetic, having faced her own hangovers with a weariness that suited the dead more.

But where's the fun in that?

Caroline winced before glaring at the grinning Nova,"It's not my fault that you got drunk off champagne," Nova defended with a smile as Caroline still glared at her.

"I feel like I should be a responsible adult and mention that underage drinking is bad," Jenna declared with a serious look in her eyes, the chipmunk cheeks the pancakes gave her ruined it though.

The teenage girls all laughed at the fact that Jenna Sommers was lecturing them about underage drinking; they had their first vodka shot with Jenna, good times.

Their giggles made Jenna sigh in resignation,"Oh, well, at least I tried." Jenna lamented before returning to her pancakes.

Nova started handing out the coffee cups to them all when they all calmed down from the hilarious joke Jenna told, she got thanks all around, although Caroline's was more like; "Thanks, bitch."

Nova was willing to ignore that last part because she kind of deserved it.

"Where's Jer?" Elena asked after taking a large sip of coffee, looking around with a confused frown as they all moved the food to the table, Nova had made enough to feed an army- or teenagers.

"Still asleep I guess, I thought the smell of food would lure him in, obviously not," Nova answered setting the plate of pancakes on the table. Nova hadn't thought much of the absence of Jeremy, to be honest; teenagers need their sleep, and Jeremy fits the stereotypical sleepy and hungry teenager-

If you ignore everything that's going happen to turn his life into a not so typical teenager life.

She remembers back in her old life she could sleep for ten hours and still be tired; she almost slept through her own death.

Nowadays she'll be lucky enough to get five, let alone ten.

"I'll go wake him," Elena spoke with a sigh, setting the carton of orange juice on the table.

"Ooh, I'll help," Nova declared with a mischievous grin in place as she thought of all the ways she could prank him awake. She still hasn't paid him back for the time he glued her ass to a folding chair last year.

Maybe a glass of cold water, everybody one in the morning. Or maybe a horror movie scream, she's never tried screaming during anything besides intercourse but it's worth a try.

Or maybe-

"Try not to kill him with one of your pranks, Nova," Bonnie spoke up dryly from the kitchen, carrying the bowls of berries to the table.

"Course not, no idea what you're talking about." Nova denied unconvincingly as she walked up the stairs with an amused Elena by her side.

 

* * *

 "...Have you heard anything from Damon?" Elena asked hopefully, they slowed down as they walked towards Jeremy's room.

"No, nothing," Nova answered with a frown, dashing Elena's hopes of getting in touch with Stefan through Damon.

She had checked her phone five times while cooking, it was a stupid false hope, she knows what happened, she saw what happened.

All she knows is that Damon doesn't have Caroline to compel, even from a distance, which is good news- fantastic as the ninth Doctor would say. Bad news though, Damon hasn't compelled anyone else as much as he did Caroline in the show, not to her knowledge anyway.

What all this means is that Nova is going to have to plan a rescue mission, which, yay. Sarcasm is strong here. It won't be hard, rescuing him, it's what's going to happen after that worries her.

Damon will be on a warpath that'll end up with multiple people dead, Nova is torn from her morbid thoughts by Elena's hand on her shoulder. "Maybe it's for the best- that they left, they brought so much drama," Elena spoke unconvincingly, as though she was trying to convince herself as much as she was Nova.

"Yeah," Nova agreed equally unconvinced, they exchanged a look of understanding before walking towards Jeremy's door.

Elena knocked three times and waited patiently for someone to respond, but Nova's starving; so she ignored the little voice in her head that said it was a stupid idea and opened the unlocked door and walked in. "Breakfast is-" The words died on Nova's tongue as both girls looked in Jeremy's room in dumbfounded horror.

There was a moment of pure shocked silence from both ends of the room before together the girls tripped out the room, slightly shoving each other through the entrance, they slammed the door as quickly as possible, both of their faces pinched in disgust.

"Holy shit," Nova spoke up after they run far away from the door as possible, even go as far as running down the stairs.

Elena and Nova share a look of absolute horror at the bottom of the stairs. "We never saw that," Elena said firmly to Nova, who just nodded in agreement.

"We never saw that," Elena said firmly to Nova, who just nodded in agreement.

They both shuddered in horror at what they just saw, but quickly they tried to put it out of their mind as they made they're way back to the kitchen table.

"What's wrong?" Jenna asked in confusion from the table as she took in the disgusted look on the teenager's faces.

Elena and Nova shared a look across the table as they sat down,

"Nothing," They said in unison, as per agreement.

Jenna let it go hesitantly and went back to watching the news from the living room. Bonnie was eating and eyeing them curiously but didn't say anything, and Caroline, well, Caroline was face planted on the table, snoring softly. At least she finished her food.

Nova, now somewhat over the horror she saw, slid her phone out of her cardigan and took a picture of the snoring Caroline.

"She's going to kill you if she finds out," Elena stated with a wry grin, Nova just shrugged, grinning at the photo.

When Jeremy finally came in the kitchen, he avoided both Elena's and Nova's eyes, which, to be fair, both Elena and Nova avoided his as well; Nova will never unsee the horror of Jeremy Gilbert going down on Vicki Donovan. Just ugh, cue shudder of horror.

Thankfully, he just ignored everyone, made a big plate of breakfast, enough for two, and left in a rush without a good morning or a goodbye. "Ah, teenage angst, gotta love that." Jenna commented when Jeremy left the room without answering her previous greeting.

Caroline woke up after gentle coaxing from Bonnie, Jenna waved away Elena when she tried to help clean up. Soon they were back in Elena's room, about to get dressed for school. The asshole of a principal didn't even bother giving them a week off from school after Mr. Tanner's tragic 'animal attack'.

Instead, they get a half day, considering, Tanner's, dead, and there's no one left to teach the class. Nova is honestly just so traumatized by it, really, she is-

Ha, ha, ha. Kidding.

"I think it's time," Nova announced randomly, locking both doors in the room and checked all the windows. Bonnie looked at her sister in startled realization, the other girls just looked confused.

"Let's sit, we have something important to tell you," Nova spoke gently and seriously. The way Bonnie looked at them and the way Nova's eyes don't sparkle with mischief cause Elena and Caroline to comply with little to no fuss. Bonnie and Nova gave each other looks before joining them.

They all sat on the bed in a small circle, with Elena and Caroline relaxing back on the headboard and the twins on the foot of the bed.

"Can I borrow this?" Bonnie asked before seizing the pillow from a startled Elena without waiting for a reply.

"What- what's going on guys?" Elena asked exchanging a confused look with Caroline on her right side.

"You're not dying are you?" Caroline asked fearfully, and Nova snorted but stayed quiet.

"We're going to show you something, something that we should have shown you a long time ago," Bonnie replied with a guilty look on her face before tearing into the old feather pillows with ease, the feathers came out with ease, Elena groaned in mild irritation but the twins ignored it.

"Ready?" Nova questioned her sister, Bonnie nodded and they clasped hands, it's not needed, but it's appreciated all the same.

Not giving Elena or Caroline the chance to say anything more, with one significant look Bonnie at the feathers, one by one, the feathers rose into the air, shocking both Elena and Caroline in the process as they took it in with wide eyes. "It's true, everything we've been joking about for years is true, we're witches," Bonnie said nervously to her amazed friends.

Bonnie relaxed and smiled warmly at the smiles they got, instead of fear like she thought. Nova squeezed her twin's hand and they both shared a smile."I believe you," Elena answered her voice filled with wonder as the feathers floated in the air with little thought from Bonnie.

Caroline nodded in agreement, for once in her life, speechless as she took it all in. "What else can you do?" Caroline asked excitedly grinning from ear to ear.

Well, that didn't last long, Nova thought dryly, exchanging a look with Bonnie, who is probably thinking the same thing.

Nova thought for a moment about what to do, a smile inched its way onto her face as she slowly started lifting her hand, that wasn't in Bonnie's grip, upwards.

Gently, at the pace of her hand movement, the four of them lifted in the air, the feathers brushing against them on the way up.Caroline and Elena shrieked in surprise as they hovered in mid-air, Nova and Bonnie shared a look of amusement at the sound, they all burst into laughter at the feeling of the feathers tickling them all.

In that moment, as the sun gleamed in brightly from the windows, everything was perfect as the four friends floated in the air surrounded by feathers, giggles went all around, and the moment was pure bliss from them all.

It was- dare she say; magical.


	11. Idiots, all of them

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nova is a bitch to a bitch, Bonnie is being haunted, and The Salvatores are assholes.

Days had passed since the Founders party, four to be exact.

Since then, nothing yet _everything_ had changed; with Elena and Caroline aware of what the twins are, the four of them have become even closer than before, which, Nova hadn't thought possible.

There's something about sharing such a big secret that made them closer than they have been in months, maybe even years; she hadn't noticed the walls that had gotten between her and her friends, but it's a relief that at least one of them had been knocked down.

The next four days after the Founders Party were spent with Bonnie and Grams. When she showed them the talisman the next day, Grams had in turn, showed them an old photo of Emily Bennett wearing the talisman around her neck.

Emily's talisman was soon made into a pendant, and despite being drawn to the Magic of the talisman, intuition told her that it was meant for Bonnie, and so to Bonnie it went.

Nova's not claiming that everything is peachy; Caroline and Elena were hurt they hadn't been told about their Magic sooner, and they have endless questions- and jokes.

She still hasn't gotten Damon out of the cellar, she has to get the timing right, somewhere around the car wash fundraiser to be more accurate.

Grams- probably to even out the fact that the talisman had been given to Bonnie- had gifted her with a book about Familiar's that she'd dug up in her office back at Whitmore.

One that didn't make her even more confused like the last one did.

The black leather book is small, about the height of her hand and only twenty pages long, it's also old, but it's in good condition having not been used very much.

It was in those pages she'd found out more about Familiars, she hasn't read through much, considering it's in fucking Russian, she doesn't know any Russian, but she's learning now, at least enough to read the book. So far she's translated two pages with Grams' help, and despite it being in another language, it was easier to understand than the last one Grams had given her.

One of the translated pages happened to be the page on how Witches would have their Familiar spy on enemies for them.

Through the bond, the Witch Bonded to the Familiar could command the Familiar who or where to spy on, and they'd find the person or place. If there's anything the Familiar thinks would aid their 'Mistress', they'd either steal it or contact the Witch through the Bond.

Since Nova doesn't like the idea of her feline companion doing her bidding with no say in it- not that Merlin could talk, but still- she did the opposite of what the page said, and just asked nicely. Okay, maybe it was more like bribe with a lot of treats and a cat flap door, but it worked.

Merlin understood her and left as soon as possible, coming back every day for food and sleep before leaving around the time she left for school. She's still not sure how Merlin is going to tell her; 'Hey! Lady, who has been feeding and cuddling me for ten years! I found something!'

But she's not going to question Magic anymore- because it's Magic.

She told Bonnie and Grams what had happened at the Founders Party, and her plan to let out Damon, they aren't very happy with her decision but are grudgingly understanding that she can't risk it; Nature might punish her if she doesn't live up to her part of the deal.

Or Damon might when he eventually got out one way or another and found out she did nothing.

Valid reasons, but not her main reason.

Death is a bittersweet relief from the torture that is the agony of dying; what Stefan is trying to do to Damon is not death, but torture.

First, the blood that keeps him.. undead will dry up after a few years, the lack of blood will cause his body to slowly mummify. He'll be aware during the entire process until he's given blood to revive him, never dying, but not truly existing either.

The fact that Stefan can do that to his brother and how high the probability is of Damon being able to do the same to Stefan made her furious. Just the thought of her doing the same to Bonnie made her nauseous.

She's also become affectionate- mildly were of Damon, and the thought of him going through that isn't making her want to jump for joy, but she's not going to tell anyone that. If she remembers correctly, he'd gotten tortured by Augustine for who knows how long, he doesn't deserve more pain.

Nova's currently at school, which is a good distraction, well, the Art Club she's in is a good distraction; her classes, however, are so pathetically easy it's not even a challenge. She's not sure if it's just because most of the teachers are just that terrible or because she knows everything their teaching her, she's willing to bet on both.

"The sexy suds car wash is tomorrow, and you.. will be there an hour early to help me set up," Caroline declared as soon they're released from the prison that is Math Class.

Nova rolled her eyes at Caroline's demanding tone, she'd been roped into helping Caroline with the fundraiser for the athletic department. Caroline had guilt tripped Nova into helping because apparently; 'The fact her best friend hadn't been told about her best friends being a Witch is scarring.'

Which, Nova calls bullshit on by the way, but she'd been feeling guilty in that moment, and had agreed, and now she's basically been Caroline's bitch. "Of course, your highness," Nova replied dully.

"Talk to you later?" Caroline asked ignoring Nova's sass with ease.

Nova nodded in agreement, and they went their separate ways, Caroline probably to rope in some other poor soul to do her bidding, and Nova has Art Club in ten minutes, she stopped by her locker on her way. Nova could see Elena and Bonnie talking in front of Elena's locker and gave them a smile, but didn't stop to chat, hurrying to her locker.

She opened her locker only to turn in confusion when her sister came up next to her. "Stefan's back," Bonnie explained with a head tilt at the guy in question.

Elena didn't look too happy with Stefan, and considering that her new boyfriend ditched her for more days than they'd been dating, she's not surprised.

"Has he apologized for being an asshole yet?" Nova asked aiming the question at Bonnie but looked directly at the Vampire in question.

Bonnie shrugged, leaning back on the locker next to Nova's, watching the couple not too subtly. "I don't know, I left before he could grovel," Bonnie replied shooting her twin a grin.

Nova huffed in amusement, finally turning from the couple, she put away her school books in her locker, grabbed her camera, pencils, and sketchpad before shutting her locker and placing the padlock on. "I'll see you later," Nova told to her still spying sister, grinning when Bonnie jumped.

Someone had been using their Magic to spy on their conversation, she's obviously been a bad influence on Bonnie.

Mission accomplished.

Nova left her twin after receiving a glare for her knowing giggles, she spared Stefan a glance when she passed the couple before leaving the hallway of lockers.

* * *

 "...I don't know.. what do you think I should do?" Nova asked turning to Elena only to find her friend distracted and staring into space.

"Elena, hello..." Nova poked the girl, slightly irritated that she'd apparently had been ignored for the past ten minutes.

Nova had come to the Grill to get dinner to-go for her and Bonnie, she'd seen Elena at the bar doing homework, clearly waiting for Stefan, and decided to chat with her best friend while waiting for the food, but clearly, her time would be better spent talking to a wall.

At least Elena had the decency to look apologetic, "Sorry, Nova. What were you saying?" Elena asked with a rueful frown on her features. "I was saying... what do you think I should do for my next Art 'assignment'," Nova said assignment with air quotes because technically she could just not participate.

"I was saying... what do you think I should do for my next Art 'assignment'," Nova said assignment with air quotes because technically she could just not participate.

But so far she's handed in every little assignment given after each meeting, it felt wrong not to do it just because she's stuck on a subject."Well... what's the subject this time?" Elena asked actually participating in the conversation.

"Love; I have to capture a moment of love," Nova responded with a disgusted frown. She's free to use whatever materials she wants, she decided on using her polaroid, it's the subject that has her worried, she's never been in love, doesn't know what it feels like, how can she capture love if she doesn't know how it feels, she always pours her soul into her art, there's no way she's going to capture false love.

"I don't know, just go with your heart," Elena supplied, rather unhelpfully, and ironically, if you ask Nova, who rolled her eyes.

"Gee, thanks, Picasso," Nova answered sarcastically, with no real heat.

"Anytime," Elena replied absently, going back to watching the doors, obviously not catching the sarcasm in Nova's voice.

"Hey, Matt, have you seen Stefan?" Elena asked as Matt passed them on his way from the bathroom.

Which, kind of rude Lena; let's ask your ex-boyfriend- who is still hardcore pining for you, where your current boyfriend is, great idea, Nova thought sarcastically.

"Nope," Matt shook his head, seemingly surprised by the question. Elena looked crestfallen, but not too surprised by the fact.

"...If you want to kill some time, you can rack," Matt told coaxingly tilting his head at the pool table behind them. "I'll even let you break," Matt added when Elena looked hesitant to abandon her stalking of the doors, she looked towards Nova in slight desperation.

"Don't mind me, go on, I'll see you later," Nova stated brightly, waving them away before Elena could use her as an excuse not to spend time with Matt.

Elena and Matt need to air out the awkwardness, they'd been friends before they started to suck face, they can be friends again.

"Okay," Elena sighed and after putting her things scattered on the bar back into her messenger bag, they left to go bond.

Thirty-minutes later she had the food in hand and was on her way out the door when she bumped into a brick wall; named Stefan.

"Oh, Hi, Nova, sorry didn't see you there," Stefan apologized, reminding her of the way Elena had apologized, the same way.

Obviously, she's not the only daydreamer in town; only she usually zones out thinking about her doomed future, Magic - or food. They seem to do it when they think about each other, it was sweet, so much so it made her want to vomit up candy.

"It's fine," Nova waved off with a smile, the smile got less genuine as she continued, "Have you seen Damon? He ditched me at the Founders Party, it was rude and I want an apology," The ire she said this with wasn't at all false, but the ire was directed more towards both of the Salvatores than just the one.

This animosity between the brothers had only just begun and it's already annoying the fuck out of her.

Stefan clearly hadn't been expecting the question but quickly supplied an answer. "He left town, he's always liked big cities, Mystic Falls is too small for him," Stefan explained with an apologetic frown she would have bought if she hadn't been in the know.

It's true, but also, false; this town is too small for Damon, to small his eating habits, his ego - but Damon wouldn't leave without Katherine, who isn't here; but Damon doesn't know that- just like Stefan doesn't know what Damon is after. Fuck this shit is confusing, she thought with a frown as a headache wormed its way into her racing brain.

"Well, if you ever see him, give him a message for me," She spoke sweetly only continuing when Stefan nods hesitantly, "Tell him he's an asshole that owes me pizza,"

"...That's it?" Stefan asked obviously confused by the message, his eyes flicked over towards the pool table were Elena and Matt are chatting.

"It's pizza, Stefan," She replied in a _'duh'_ manner as they switched places, her moving towards the door and him moving further in the restaurant that's having a slow day.

Honestly though, what did he except? Her to give him a hint to whatever Damon had/has planned, yeah, right, she's not stupid.

"See ya, later, Stef." Nova said goodbye over her shoulder, leaving out the door before he could reply.

* * *

 "Okay, so I've been having these recurring dreams lately, but they don't feel like normal dreams," Bonnie told her sister, sitting down at the kitchen table in front of her take-out. Bonnie asks Nova because she's the expert at Divination in all it's cryptic bullshit glory; they both had to learn how to interpret dreams and warnings, but Nova's the one who had to sink her teeth in deeper into Divination, her being a Seer made it all more important to learn.

Nova placed two glasses of lemon water down in front of their meals, fried chicken, rice, and mixed vegetables for both of them.

"Then they're probably not. What are they about?" Nova wouldn't normally pry into people's dreams, she knows all too well how personal they can get.

But Bonnie, to be blunt, looks terrible, has been for the past three days, as though she hasn't had a good night sleep in days. Nova hadn't said anything because she knew that it'd be better if her sister came to her, one thing that Bonnie hates is being babied and underestimated, they share that in common.

But it had worried her; Nova's gotten used to not sleeping for more than five hours a night, it's just become routine for her since she got all her memories back. Bonnie though, she's never really had anything plaguing her dreams since they were fourteen and the four of them had snuck into a rated R horror movie.

To be fair though, it had given all of them nightmares for weeks.

"There's this woman, who seems really familiar, but I can never see her face, it's like- she's blurred, and whenever she talks all I hear is this really eerie whisper surrounding me," Bonnie explained, letting it all out in a rush of breath, relieved to be getting it off her chest.

Nova tilted her head in thought, going over the events of this year's possible future in her head. "Okay, well, when did you start having them?" Nova questioned after taking a hesitant bite of her food. The food was good but she doesn't really like talking while eating food, she prefers eating and letting other, more social people talk while she's eating.

When Nova looked up from her plate, her eyes landed on the talisman around Bonnie's neck she silently answered her own question. Oh, oh... Not good, very not good, that's bad, she mentally panicked for a moment before relaxing. Emily is clearly having trouble getting in contact with Bonnie, and they haven't tried to contact the dead, yet, so they're safe from being possessed by their ancestor. She'll have to come up with a plan to avoid that.

Bonnie took her time thinking about it for a moment, playing with her food in the process. "...After- after I put on Emily Bennett's necklace," Bonnie answered in realization. Nova nodded in agreement with Bonnie's train of thought.

"She's clearly trying to get in contact with you," Nova announced, leaning back in her chair, giving up on eating while she's having a conversation.

"For what though?" Bonnie questioned nervously playing with the talisman around her neck.

"What do fictional ghost always have?" Nova asked rhetorically with a smile on her lips.

"Unfinished business," The twins said at the same time; Nova knew all those Supernatural and Ghost Whisperer episodes hadn't been for nothing. See, TV helps minds, not kill them.

Nova knows that Emily isn't technically a Ghost but a Spirit, but dead people who can't physically interact with their old life usually have one thing on their mind; what they didn't get to do before they died.

The front door shutting made them jump out of their chairs in alarm, Grams would have called if she was coming over, and considering that Vampires are running around town and Bonnie's being haunted by a Spirit- the jumpiness is warranted. They shared a look before turning towards the kitchen archway as footsteps creaked on the old wooden floorboards.

They both tensed for a fight, their Magic rose up defensively.

Nova, although outwardly calm, could feel her heartbeat beating in her chest faster as the footsteps slowly reached the kitchen archway.

She's never used her Magic violently against someone- violent, yes, both Bonnie and Nova have caused serious damage to Mystic Falls woods when they'd been amateurs, and sometimes they did it after, just to blow off steam. They've never tried using them on someone though, not yet anyway.

But she'd protect Bonnie, with her life, damn her inexperience, but, hopefully, it never comes to that, because she rather likes this life, better than the last one anyway-

"Dad!" Bonnie yelped holding her hand to her most likely pounding heart. Nova sighed in relief at the familiar face, only to glare at her sheepish looking father.

She remembered with sudden clarity, that not only had he startled them both just now, but he'd left town for almost weeks; the day after he made plans with them.

"Nice of you to call before giving us a heart attack," Nova spoke up sarcastically, falling back on her habit of sarcasm to hide her hurt feelings at being left behind, again.

Their father sighed wearily wiping a hand over his fatigued face, suddenly making Nova feel shitty, she doesn't want to feel bad for her absent father, she wants to rage at not just having one set of disappointing parents but two, one for each life.

But she doesn't do that, she just stared blankly at her father's face and feels sorry for him. "Sorry, my phone died on the way here," He replied sending them apologetic glances as he set his suitcase on the living room floor.

"They have chargers you can plug into your car, dad," Bonnie finally spoke up having calmed down from her startle.

"I'll have to remember that. I see you girls got the cat flap door for your cat," He talked from the living room while they watched from the archway. It's weird to go from talking about Spirits to talking about ordinary things with their father.

Bonnie and Nova shared a glance; figures he didn't want to talk about his sudden leave.

"Yeah, two days ago," Nova added the last part under her breath with a roll of eyes. "I'm sure Merlin is happy- what's that good smell, did one of you cook?" He asked walking into the kitchen.

At least he got her Familiar's name right, she thought snidely. "We got food to go for two," Bonnie replied sitting back in her chair in front of the food that's probably cold by now. "The Grill?" He asked slightly rhetorically since that's pretty much the only place they order from, but tried to keep the conversation going either way.

"Mhm, you can have mine, needs to be reheated though," Nova stated politely, straightening out the chair she'd knocked sideways into the table.

"You're not hungry?" He asked with genuine confusion and concern. Nova's never turned down food unless she's sick, like really sick.

Bonnie looked on at the interaction quietly, clutching the talisman in her hand as she watched them slightly apprehensively. "I'm super tired from school, and I've got to get up early to help Caroline with a fundraiser, so go ahead," Nova responded reassuringly to her concerned father.

Technically all true, she does have to help Caroline with the fundraiser and she is tired from school, but she really just needs a moment of solitude so she doesn't say anything completely relationship damaging to her father.

"Well, okay, goodnight sweetie," He answered watching her as she shot Bonnie an apologetic look for leaving her alone to deal with their father- but left all the same.

"Night," Nova returned before rushing out the room and up to her room and shutting herself in for the night.

* * *

 "No friend discounts, no freebies, no pay ya laters, we are not running a charity here- no, we are not,"

Both [Nova](https://www.polyvore.com/supernova_vampire_diaries_fanfiction/set?id=228536428) and Caroline are taking turns watching the money and washing cars since they're the ones in charge of the fundraiser. Caroline had come up to switch with Nova and saw the fifteen minutes late Elena walk up, and immediately started to lecture her.

"No we are not," Elena repeated sharing an amused look with Nova; they kind of are running a charity, the banner Nova made that's hanging over their head says so.

Stefan walked over towards them and greeted them- well it more like he greeted Elena and only glanced at us in greeting. "Hey," Stefan greeted with a soft smile aimed in Elena's direction.

"Hi!" Elena greeted back, her smile just as soft.

Nova had received a text from Elena last night just before she went to sleep, telling her that Mystic Falls lovely couple had made up and that there'd be details later.

"Ugh, excuse me while I go vomit," Nova declared jokingly after they just stared at each other for a moment, she left before it got any cuter.

She saw Bonnie and Matt washing cars and chatting next to each other and skipped over to help. Bonnie looked up in her direction when she finally reached them. "Thanks for leaving me with dad last night, and this morning," Bonnie stated sourly when she saw her sister in front of them.

Matt winced but overall stayed silent as possible, smart guy.

"I know, I know- I'm a bitch who owes you big time for covering for her," Nova apologized sincerely, as a rush of guilt and shame washed over her.

Bonnie had been getting terrorized in her dreams by their ancestor and instead of helping her, what'd Nova do; she ran like a little girl. She tries not to make a habit of running from her problems, but family has always been a touchy topic with her.

Bonnie pretended to think it over, but the surprisingly sincere apology clearly had gotten through to her anger. "Forgiven," Bonnie eventually answered with a smile, handing Nova a sponge that'd been in the bucket by her feet. They both could hear the sigh of relief that came from Matt, which they chose to ignore for his sake alone.

Five minutes in they could see Elena and Stefan across the lot, kissing, and Matt well, he watched like some masochist weirdo.

"Uh, uh, no," Bonnie affirmed pointing a warning finger at Matt, clearly annoyed with his weird masochist ways too. "None of that tortured pining stuff,"

Maybe they really do have telepathic twin powers.

"I'm just observing," Matt defended himself weakly, reluctantly taking his eyes off the happy couple and back towards the vehicle he's washing.

"Mhm.." The twins said synchronically, both of them not taking the big pile of bullshit Matt's selling. Nova then spotted her fellow cheerleader, Tiki, passing by.

"Hey, Tiki! This one is yours," Nova told the teen, who stopped at her call, Nova nodded her head at the car that just parked behind them.

"Why do I always get the homely ones?" Tiki asked with a bitch face on, not a resting bitch face, just a face of a bitch.

Nova knew she stayed away from Tiki for a reason; there's being a bitch in certain moments, and then there's just being a really big bitch. Tiki always tries too hard to be the latter and ends up looking like an idiot in the process. "Just to be clear, your car's a P.O.S. I mean, we can wash it, but it's still a P.O.S." Tiki continued speaking, to the owner of the car.

The car is old and definitely not a convertible, some people just can't afford nice cars to impress gold diggers like Tiki. Nova knows what it's like to not have enough money to afford the things you want, in her old life she'd been a struggling writer, working paycheck from paycheck with a part-time job wherever there was work, the point is; the car is old but it's not that horrible that it warrants Tiki bitchitude.

"You don't have to be rude," Bonnie spoke up with a glare as Matt watched on, probably secretly hoping for a catfight to start.

"Rude is uglying up the road with that junk," Tiki replied as the offended car owner shut the door and left in an angry huff.

"Tiki, you shouldn't talk about yourself that way," Nova said suddenly, very patronizingly, finally having enough of the girl's attitude, she patted the other girl's hand harshly.

Bonnie huffed in amusement, but just calmly folded her arms to watch the show with Matt.

"I know you have self-esteem issues but calling yourself a piece of shit and ugly junk is just harsh," Nova continued tearing into the girl who thinks she's the shit because she got on the cheerleading team this year, after two years of failed tryouts.

"I didn't-" Tiki angrily started to say, her cocoa skin flushing in anger, only to get interrupted by Nova shoving a bucket of soapy water toward her stomach, forcing Tiki to hold it in the process.

"Go wash the car - I want it to fucking sparkle like Edward Cullen in sunlight," Nova ordered before stepping closer to the taller girl, despite her lack of height, the glare she started to aim at the girl made up for it in spades. "And then when you get done washing the car, you're going to apologize to the owner of said car- or you're going to find your skinny ass off the team," Nova finished with a raised brow at the fuming teen, calm in the face of the other teen's fury.

When you want to outwit a bitch, all you have to do is a be a bigger bitch. To be honest, it's not that hard outwitting Tiki, who has the wit of a five-year-old.

"You can't do that- only Caroline can," Tiki protested trying to stay strong under Nova's laser-like gaze.

"Watch me," Nova responded with a pleasant grin that didn't fit the conversation but obviously made Tiki wary.

Nova only stepped out the older girl's space when Tiki backed down and went to wash the car. She had been bluffing with the threat, Caroline would never kick someone off for being a bitch, considering that'd mean kicking off half of the girls off the team - but, that's irrelevant, as the threat clearly worked.

"You like doing that way too much," Bonnie commented not bothering hiding her grin.

"Maybe a little," Nova responded with a winning grin in Matt and Bonnie's direction, going back to the car she'd been helping Matt wash.

Fifteen minutes later, there was a weird sensation that made its way down her spine. It was a warm sensation, it felt harmless, but weird all the same. When she focused on the feeling, it made her zone out, her vision blurred, and she dropped the bucket in her hands in the process.

Nova's Magic kept focusing on the sensation, leaving her no choice but to follow it when she couldn't focus back on the real world. When she gave in and stopped fighting it, images began flashing before her eyes, too fast to catch, but it soon focused on just one;

The Salvatore Boarding House.

It was odd.. because she knows the Boarding House is big, but it's never been that tall and daunting before.

And when she tried to move towards the door, thinking it was her chance to rescue Damon- she couldn't move. When she does move closer to the giant door, it doesn't feel like Nova herself was moving, but someone else. It's only when she see's the shadow of a cat on the pavement, moving in sync with her vision does she even begin to understand what the hell is going on.

"Nova!" Bonnie's voice breaks her out her trance.

"Fuck," Nova spoke at the same time Bonnie called out to her again.

"Are you okay?" Matt asked with a concerned frown as he laid a hand on Nova's shoulder. Nova could see a few other nosy passerby's looking on, the scene eerily reminds her of the time she got her memories back.

At least she hadn't fainted this time, Nova thought dryly.

"Yeah, fine. I was just day-dreaming, you know me," Nova joked grinning, waving off their concern, only letting the grin fall when she still saw the concern coming from both of them. "I'm fine, but we need towels, I'll go get them," She reassured them, and she is fine, she's just kind of freaked out, and in a hurry.

Matt let her shoulder go with one more comforting squeeze and reluctantly went back to hosing down another car.

"Are- are you sure you're okay?" Bonnie asked once more, cutting herself off from saying anything about Magic in public.

"I'll let you know later," Nova's answer has a double meaning that Bonnie understood well; Talk later, I'll let you know then.

"I always knew you were weird," Tiki sneered at her as Nova passed by, clearly having witnessed Nova zoning out.

"I don't see that Cullen Sparkle, Tiki!" Nova yelled not looking back as she raced away from the fundraiser and towards her own car.

* * *

 Nova ignored at least three red lights, four stop signs, and speeded; she's either going to get so many tickets she'll be in debt before she get's a foot into college, or get a stern lecture from Sherriff Forbes. Somehow, Nova didn't care about all of this as she finally arrived at the Salvatore Boarding House, there were only two things on her mind; find out if her theory correct, and save an asshole.

She grabbed her beach backpack she'd left in her car, and left the car in a hurry.

Noticing Merlin in front of the door just confirmed everything; everything she'd seen had been real, she'd been looking through Merlin's eyes.

The shock and awe of it kind of went away when she saw her Familiar sunbathing, of all fucking things. "You're a fucking weirdo, you know that?" Nova talked to her cat, looking down at the sunbathing cat. Merlin meowed unhappily as she blocked his view of the sun and shot her look as he flopped over on his legs gracefully, the look practically said; you're one to talk.

"Guess, we're both weird," Nova shrugged in agreement, ignoring the fact that Merlin hadn't said anything, it just feels like he can understand her and she understands him.

"Go on home, I don't want you getting eaten by the vegetarian vampire, he might mistake you for a bunny," Nova joked laughing softly at her own joke.

Seven Hells, she is so lame, she's telling her feline Familiar a joke.

Nova only approached the front door when Merlin left without any 'comments' on her lame ass jokes.

Nova gently opened the door, there was no Magic needed seeing as how everyone in this damn house is egotistical and doesn't bother locking the door. Not that it could do much if someone Supernatural actually wanted to kill them, Nova thought to herself as she walked into the place with light footsteps.

Okay, so, here comes the hard part.

Finding the Cellar in which hungry a Damon is locked up in and making it out the home without alerting Zach Salvatore.

Easy peasy.

Nova sighed to herself as she wandered the home as quiet as possible when wandering the place doesn't help her find anything she tried something else; 'reaching' into her Magic. Nova has a surprising number of people her Magic- for the lack of a better word- latched onto.

Bonnie and Nova's bond is the strongest, having been formed literally in the womb and only growing stronger as they got older, and then the rest of her close family and friends, not to mention her Familiar Bond. Damon and Nova haven't known each other very long, but they formed a semi-bond through the deal they made, tying them together till it's finished, and she's fond of him and that means so is her Magic.

So, Nova let her Magic lead her to him, trusting it to know where to go, she left the room she'd wandered into, and her feet led her to the basement in no time.

Nova hesitantly walked down into the basement, with its dark, damp, crumbling walls that make her question her safety. She managed to stay quiet and far away from the cellar door as she carefully made her way past it, and towards the large cooler in the corner.

Nova's not stupid, she knows if she goes into that cellar and she's the first thing Damon see's, deal or no, he's a Vampire who'd been starved for days, almost an entire week, he'll try to drain her dry. And she still has no clue what'd happen if he tried, would he die before he got the chance to hurt her, or would he kill her before Nature stepped in.

She grabbed three blood bags, pushing the morbid thoughts away, and then she cautiously approached the door, her heart nervously thumping before thinking to herself; fuck it- and swung the cellar door open with her Magic.

Nothing happened, it was anticlimactic as fuck, she boldly stepped in and shut the cell door behind her, shut, but didn't lock it, just in case Zach decided to check in on Damon from the basement door, or if she needs to- you know, run. When she dropped the blood bags one by one by his feet, it startled a reaction out of the sleeping Vampire, who opened his eyes blearily and looked from the blood bags to her.

"Drink," She commanded pointing at the blood bags in case he got any ideas about drinking from her.

He devoured all three, one by one, by the last one he slowed down his pace.

Nova just observed him, keeping an ear out in case Zach decided he wanted to watch a Vampire rot. She's morbidly fascinated by the color of his skin slowly regaining its color. Damon threw the last blood bag on the ground, he looked much better, but still not his best.

"I'm surprised to see you here," He finally commented tilting his head up at her, still on the floor as he got his bearings.

"We have a deal," Nova stated with a raised brow, slightly offended.

She doesn't make promises lightly, and on the night of the comet, she'd went above and beyond to cement her promise to him.

"You look..delicious," Damon commented, going completely off topic as he took her in a little too hungrily with her tribal print bikini. The only thing covering her is the matching kimono coverup she'd thrown over herself before rushing out the house.

"You look like shit," Nova returned without pause, his lips quirked at her bluntness. He does look terrible, maybe not like shit, but there was sweat on his brow and he still had a slightly gray tinge to his skin that even three blood bags wouldn't take away.

"Why'd you come?" Damon asked eyeing her curiously. Didn't she just answer that question?

"You owe me pizza," She avoided the question easily, reaching down to pull him up off the ground with a heave. "Come on we gotta get out of here before someone notices the unlocked door,"

Nova and Damon had made it out the basement awkwardly, with him leaning on her and all, but they managed.

They ran into trouble when they got to the living room and made their way to the front door. "Wait, wait, stop," Damon said suddenly digging his feet into the living room carpet, she grudgingly stopped with him.

"What is it?" She whispered as a bad feeling worm its way down her spine. They really should leave before they get caught, or worse.

She has no doubts if Stefan came back home suddenly she could take him, but she doesn't really want to, she'd like to avoid the backlash that'd give her from Elena.

"Stefan took my ring," Damon told her just as someone made their way down the stairs, confirming her fears.

Zach looked shocked to see Damon out of the cellar, and ran, towards them. "No, no, get out of here, run!" Zach warned her, yelling as he ran towards them with a panicked look on his face. Most likely mistaking her for one of Damon's human puppets, he warned her, when he should be the one running.

Damon- who middle name is apparently vengeance- had a sudden burst of strength, and left her grip with ease, vampire sped behind the panicked Salvatore. And before either of them could even blink, Damon snapped Zach's neck with a twist of his hands.

The brutal sound of his neck snapping as his body smacking the ground echoed in Nova's ears as she processed what just happened.

There was a moment of silence as Damon breathed in and out heavily.

"Do you feel better?" Nova asked sarcastically after finally pulling her eyes off the dead body.

That's a dead body, holy fuck, that's a dead body.

Nova, like usual, panicked internally but never let her panic show on her face. "Loads," Damon answered back with a pleased smirk, walking over the body, and towards her with a confident stride that irritated her to no end.

She should be panicking over the dead person lying on the carpeted floor, not checking out the Vampire who murdered said dead person. Seven fucks, her brain is so fucked up. "Now what?" Nova asked as he leaned towards her, she just stared back, refusing to be intimidated by him.

Damon's an asshole, but compared to the stuff she's going to have to deal with in a few short months he's not as bad, demented, yes, very much unhinged. But everyone in this town is a little crazy.

"Now we wait for sunrise," Damon answered leaning back from her when she showed no reaction to him getting in her personal space.

Nova doesn't bother even questioning why the hell she has to wait with him and just sank into one of the many sofas in the room.

* * *

 About thirty minutes later, Damon came back downstairs, having changed into his usual attire of a button down shirt, jeans, and a leather jacket. Nova hadn't moved from the couch, but she had closed all the curtains in the room with her Magic- because she did not just save Damon just for the asshole to fry from fucking sunlight.

"What? No sobbing, no questioning my morals... no violent urges to try to kill me?'" Damon asked sardonically when she didn't say anything, she could hear him pour him a drink behind her.

"Do you know what you did was morally wrong?" She asked dully, playing a game on her phone.

"...Yup,"

"Do you care?"

"Nope,"

"There you go then, that's all I wanted to know," Nova stated sitting up and turning to watch him pour his third drink. Damon shot her a weird look at her indifferent attitude.

It's like he actually wants her to run screaming.

"Not the one who just killed my only living family member," She gently reminded him with a raised eyebrow, getting a casual shrug in return.

Damn, his whole family is fucked up beyond fuck.

"But if you want to talk about your deep-seated issues, I'm your girl," She teased with a grin as she leaned forward on the sofa to snatch the third drink from his hand, she's going to need it.

"You are... very chill for a teenager who just saw someone brutally murdered in front of her," Damon declared choosing to ignore the theft and just pouring himself another drink.

"I'm sure I'll have a good cry and nightmares about it later, I'm great at repressing my feelings," Nova answered absentmindedly as she turned back towards her phone.

"That's not very healthy," Damon criticized, ironically enough, the smirk on his lips ruined the scolding though.

He's one to talk about unhealthy habits when he's the one who's been spending most of his immortal life ruining his brother's life and searching for a way to free a lover who doesn't want to be found, ruining all his other relationships in the process.

She said none of this though, just shot him a look and checked her phone. Elena calling her stopped her from checking her new messages, she hesitantly answered;

"Hey-"

 _"Remember when we talked about anything other than witches existing?"_ Elena cut her off with a question that stilled Nova.

"..Yeah, we never got finished talking about it," Nova answered hesitantly, turning to look at Damon, who is no doubt listening to the other side of the conversation.

 _"...Vampires.. are they real?"_ Elena asked with a mild note of panic in her voice. In the rush to get here and rescue Damon, Nova had forgotten that Elena would be finding out about Vampires today.

"...Uhm, mhm, yup," Nova answered after a moment, ignoring the look Damon shot her in the process.

 _"...And Stefan- and Damon, is he- are they?"_ Elena could barely get out the question as she was very much panicking.

"Yup," Nova answered only to get hung up on afterward.

How rude.

"You're welcome," Nova told her phone and with a roll of her eyes, she placed her phone back in her bag.

"Are we casually telling people the existence of vampires now?" Damon asked sarcastically, watching her down the alcohol in one big gulp. She coughed lightly as the whiskey burned its way down her throat.

"Elena already figured it out before she called me, she just wanted confirmation," Nova replied sliding off the couch and towards the almost empty decanter. She lightly hip-checked Damon out the way to pour the rest into her tumbler.

"As long as she keeps her mouth shut it shouldn't be a problem," Damon answered, she ignored the subtle threat and sipped at the drink in her hand.

At the rate she's going she'll probably end up an alcoholic in a couple years.

"Well, would you look at that, dinner time," Damon announced as he looked out the windows and at the setting sun.

"That's my cue to leave," Nova spoke after setting the empty glass tumbler down on the wooden table with a heavy clink.

She's not going to bother protesting, it's in his nature, Vampires have to feed off of Humans, or they die, simple as that. And despite not liking him killing his food, changing Damon's eating habits are the last thing on her mind.

"Try to cover your tracks." She warned as they walked outside, the setting sun having gone down all the way, but the asshole just waved it off and left the house speeding away without a word.

Idiot.


	12. No Bella Swan's in Mystic Falls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Secret's are told, plans are made, and Nova cannot catch a break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whenever I write I find my inner perfectionist, she's a bitch who doesn't like updating until the chapter is to her standard. Sorry for the delay, hope you enjoy! 
> 
> My Polyvore account is; randomfashionsxoxo, go check it out to see Nova's face, style, car, Familiar, everything is in a collection!

Nova woke up bleary-eyed the next morning at the usual time of; too fucking early to even be coherent.

Despite the fact last night should have been nightmare inducing, her dreams had been... tame in comparison to other nights.

Sighing heavily, she turned on her back and stared at her galaxy painted-ceiling, the colors where mesmerizing and momentarily distracted her from her thoughts.

Merlin was sleeping peacefully, on the pillow next to her, despite the fact she bought him a cat bed ages ago, she'd be pissed about the black cat fur on her pillows if she didn't shed hair like a cat herself.

Nova curiously turned her head towards the window; barely any sunlight came through the curtained window, clueing her in on the early time. Although she wanted nothing more than to fall back asleep, she knows that it'd take hours just to doze off.

Instead, Nova remembers the time she'd been at her worst; the week she'd had spent facing her aversion to fire.

The twins had just turned fourteen, they'd begun practicing Elemental Magic. Sadly, Fire was the first Element they learned to practice because it's the most important, not the mention the easiest to learn. Grams had first started them off by teaching them to light candles with an incantation, and then, later on, they had to try lighting them by pure will.

It'd been fine, she had been fine- until the spells became more nerve-wracking.

Then the time came where they had to try to ignite a small bonfire in the woods- the trick was that after they succeeded creating the flames- they had to try to stop the flames, and then try to reverse the damage done with Earth Magic.

Because its easy to destroy something, but it's harder to stop that kind of normally uncontrolled chaos and even harder to mend it.

Bonnie had been having a hard time reversing the damage the fire had done to the wood but had figured it out pretty damn quickly after a few failed attempts.

Nova, however, had started hyperventilating after she lit her bonfire.

The flames had been soaring high in the spring air, the warmth of the fire, the smell of the wood burning- had made her feel like she was back in her burning apartment.

She had zoned out, her mind had been in another place, in another life entirely; and her Magic had reacted to her distress by nearly sending the entire surrounding forest into flames.

Grams had stopped the flames right away, of course, and Bonnie had gently shaken Nova out her trance, taking care not to startle her.

They'd left behind a large scorch mark where it happened.

Grams had promptly canceled that training session until Nova was ready to start again. Thirteen-year-old Nova had been frustrated and angry with herself for being so frightened over an Element she could now learn to control.

After that disaster, it had been a rough week of waking up in gasps, drowned in sweat that seemed to go through the sheets, and every time she had gotten angry, fires started around her that Bonnie had to secretly put out for that entire week.

Bonnie had been worried, so had Grams, they'd tried talking to Nova, but they hadn't pushed her, much. And while they had been there for her, they had let her try to figure it out on her own.

She's pretty damn sure if she hadn't figured it out they would have pushed harder.

Nova had been stretched too thin that week, her nightmares are always disturbing- even the nondeath related ones- but she had learned to shake it off in the waking.

After one too many bad nights of waking up covered in sweat and the phantom taste of ash of her tongue, she had gotten sick and tired of being terrified of something that happened literally a lifetime ago.

Nova had summoned her inner Targaryen that week- she hadn't walked into flames and claimed herself unburnt and then give birth to dragons. But what she had done was go back to the scorched part of the wood, and practiced alone, late at night.

Not exactly one of her best ideas, given the fact she'd been an amateur at witchcraft- but she'd been having an off week.

What drove her to even try to overcome her fear was a mix of that stubborn trait that comes in spades with Bennett women, the desire to be powerful, and her overprotectiveness of her loved ones that just fuels the into to be more.

It was the latter that had made her swallow her fear and try again.

Nova's sure she had scared the shit out of Bonnie and Grams when she came back, a couple hours later, covered in soot head to toe.

She'd been praised for reversing the damage she'd done to the woods- and then immediately grounded for a month for sneaking out at night to do unsupervised Magic.

Nova sighed at the memories, playing absently with Merlin's tail as he slept on peacefully. She eyed him jealously as not even her softly playing with his tail woke him up- if anything it made her feline companion sink into the sheets more.

It was disturbingly ironic though; how after she got over her fear of fire, it became the easiest Element to produce.

She snorted at her thoughts, as she got up out of the bed careful not to disturb her feline companion, her eyes scanned the bookshelves, grabbing a book from her now over cramped shelvings before settling back into her sheets, her back leaning on the headboard.

It took her about fifteen minutes of just staring blankly at the first two pages of her favorite book to realize she couldn't focus on the words printed on the pages what so ever.

Nova's mind kept straying to what had happened at the Salvatore Boarding House.

It might sound horrible but instead of freaking out about someone dying in front of her- it was the way the person died that fucked her mind, that moment where she'd just blinked and then suddenly- Someone was dead, just like that.

It had reminded her of the fact she was in a different universe. Learning about Magic had only made her feel powerful, more solid and connected to this universe, connected to the Earth. For the most part, this universe has seemed almost identical to her old one, but it was moments like those that made this universe feel foreign; it was like playing the game 'Spot the difference', only the differences could very well mean life or death.

Because what if the differences go beyond what her old universe used to be, what if there were differences to the 'plot' she knows.

Nova groaned and despite wanting to throw something in frustration, she carefully lowered the book on her nightstand as she got out of bed, checking the time on her phone;

 _7:32_ , great, just early enough to avoid getting eaten by a Vampire.

Nova immediately stripped out of her pajamas and [dressed](https://www.polyvore.com/running_away/set?id=230895195) in matching sports bra and running shorts before slipping on socks and her old Nike running shoes, her hair was already in two side braids, so she just grabbed her brand new touchscreen phone off the charger, some earplugs, and her well-worn phone armband on the way out of her room.

As soon as she was out the door and on the porch, biting air greeted her lungs, she welcomed the cold air that woke her up in a way only coffee usually did, and ignored the goosebumps forming all over her exposed body in favor of pulling her Skullcandy earbuds in and turning Pandora on her phone.

She tapped the station titled; 'Running Music', and almost instantly, _'Go It Alone'_ by Beck softly started through her earplugs.

After turning the music all the way up, she placed the phone band on her arm, and then- she took off, running as fast as she could from her thoughts. The only things she could focus was breathing in and out, the burning in her thighs as her feet hit the pavement, and the music that was so loud it made it hard to even think.

It was a comfort from her usual chaotic thoughts.

* * *

Nova's cell phone ringing in her ears stopped her pace sometime later, she flinched at the loud ringtone that was suddenly in her ears and ripped the earplugs out of her ears, slightly tripping on the oncoming pavement in the process. "Hello," Nova answered the phone gasping, she almost ended up kneeling over from the pain that went straight to her thighs.

"Nova, hey... are you okay? You sound..." Elena's concerned voice came from over speaker.

Nova was too busy gasping to hold the phone to her ear properly so she'd put it on speaker. "Like I'm dying?" Nova remarked dryly as her lungs proceeded in trying to kill her slowly.

Nova squatted wearily down on a nearby curb, her heart beat slowly calmed down but her legs feel like noodles, they're practically useless, she should have paced her self better-

But she's a fucking idiot, a nincompoop.

"Are you okay?" Elena sighed in exasperation over the phone.

Nova could practically feel the eye roll, it was audible, not literally, but it felt like it. "I'm fine, just jogging. What's up?" Nova asked absently, squinting in the sunlight she hadn't noticed before.

"Could you and Bonnie meet me at the Grill in twenty?"

Nova had tried calling Elena last night to check on her, she'd been slightly worried, more about her friend's mental state than anything else and had wanted to be there for her. She'd only received a very vague, 'call you later' text after two attempts of calling.

Nova figures this is the later the other teen had been talking about.

"Okay, will there be breakfast?" Nova asked seriously because breakfast is the most important meal of the day. She's also not completely sure if her stomach is cramping from the lack of food in it or because she skipped stretching before she started running.

"Yes, there will be food. It is a restaurant. I think that feeding hungry teenagers are at least one of its purposes." Elena answered her voice tinged with barely suppressed amusement.

"Ha-ha-ha," Nova laughed in mock laughter despite her amusement being genuine, she reluctantly got up off the curb, "I cooked last time, so you are totally paying."

Fucking hell, she thinks she left a sweat stain, on concrete.

Elena exhaled in amusement, hanging up with a final; "See you."

It wasn't exactly a promise of payment of the food she's suddenly craving, but it'll have to do. Nova sighed before pushing her phone back into the armband sticking uncomfortably on her sweaty arm and reluctantly started to run back home, taking shortcuts to get home quicker, not bothering to put the earplugs back in her ears.

Nova silently cursed as she cautiously opened the front door and it creaked. Fuck you too, you stupid old ass door, she thought as she glared at the object of her ire, but relaxed when no one came down the stairs.

Nova tiptoed up said stairs, skipping a particularly creaky step and continued tiptoeing past her father's room where she could faintly hear movement coming from within. Somehow, she's more afraid to interact with her very human father than she is of centuries-old Vampires.

Go figure, she thought wryly, moving into the bathroom noiselessly.

She yanked off her outfit and as soon as it hit the bathroom floor tile, she turned the shower on and not bothering to let it get hot, got into the lukewarm shower. Soon the water warmed and she simultaneously started to lather herself with her 3-n-1 shower gel while brushing her teeth- and dancing- don't forget her purposely terrible dancing as her phone softly played music from the bathroom's countertop.

She loves to multitask; even though she kind of sucks at it, she ends up almost faceplanting into the bathroom floor, twice.

Shower dancing, complicated stuff. Also completely worth it- if she ignored the moments she thought she was going to die, she could see the headlines now;

Teen dies by air guitaring into the shower.

She slipped into her room finding something to [wear](https://www.polyvore.com/meeting_grill/set?id=230895053) in record time; a zodiac wheel sleeveless tee, some ripped blue jeans with a thick black belt, thick black socks with grey aliens on them, and her old black and white converses that really need to be thrown away but have sentimental value. Nova was in a hurry, so she just unbraided her hair, sprayed a lot of dry shampoo in and brushed it into a half bun. Food and coffee were put over makeup, as always, so she just completed her outfit with jewelry and a leather hoodie jacket.

Nova quickly left her room for Bonnie's room, her shoes echoing in the hallway despite the extra care she took not to step on the creaky floorboards. Bonnie's bedroom is right across from Nova's own bedroom, it'd been painted by Nova, of course; the walls are a soft beige with dark green vines painted scattered across the room, the rest of the room was done in calming colors, like dark greens, honey brown, and different shades of greys. It always smells like Bonnie's favorite jasmine oil perfume and the potted flowers placed all over the room; just like Nova's room always smells like her favorite vanilla lavender lotion, her dried and potted flowers, and Merlin's personal cat shampoo.

Where Nova's room looks as though it's always a mess, even when Nova makes sure to clean it daily, Bonnie's room is effortlessly clean even with her knickknacks all around the room.

"...Bonnie," Nova whispered poking her sleeping sister, who didn't even stir, just continued snoring into her mountain of pillows. "Okay, I didn't want to have to do this," Nova lied to her sleeping sister, there was a grin on her face as she left the room.

She came back into the earth-tone bedroom quick as she left, only this time, with a glass of water and camera in hand, and her mischievous smile still firmly in place. "Last chance, Bonster." Nova whispered solemnly, not even trying to wake her sister up the normal way. She shrugged when she got only snores for a reply, mercilessly pouring the small glass of lukewarm water on Bonnie's head.

That definitely woke her up better than the soft pokes and whispers.

Bonnie gasped awake, shuddering as she sat up as water trailed down of hair and eventually on her shocked face.

"Wha-" Bonnie began to say only to turn her startled green eyes on her grinning sister, who has her camera in hand.

It was the shutter of the Polaroid camera going off that set Bonnie off- she lunged towards Nova, who, wisely, ran out of the room as fast as she could while bursting into giggles every few seconds.

* * *

 

"Oh, come on, Bon, it's a great picture," Nova joked as they sat down at an outdoor table at the Mystic Grill, waiting for the mysterious Elena to show up.

"Then why won't you let me see it?" Bonnie asked challengingly with a raised brow, placing her bag on the table.

The wind blew through Bonnie's still damp and now wavy hair and pulled out a few strands of Nova's messy bun.

"Because you'll burn it as soon as you set your eyes on it." Nova explained without pause, tugging her jacket closer to her body.

Bonnie didn't get the chance to reply because at that very moment Caroline sat in the chair front of them. "I see I wasn't the only one who got a very vague call from Elena this morning," Caroline remarked with a frown. "Probably has something to do with the boyfriend," Bonnie answered to a now confused Caroline who didn't see the approaching couple walking up to the table behind her.

Or did they break up 'cause of the whole undead thing?

"Behind you," Nova said to Caroline, pointedly moving her eyes over Caroline's shoulder.

Caroline's loose blonde hair whipped around her as she turned her head towards a stressed looking Elena and a brooding Stefan. Stefan's brooding forehead is nothing new, Nova doubts it'll ever go away. In fact, it'll probably get more pronounced in the upcoming years, she can't and won't blame him for it, his undead life has been very... eventful. Elena's frazzled appearance has been making a regular appearance for the past few years, it's worrying. Nova would love to keep her family and friends safe and happy, living stress-free lives. But short of hoarding all of her friends and family in a spell protected bunker with bubble wrap armor like some paranoid-

Oh, well, short of pulling a Klaus and going batshit overprotective and possessive mode, Nova can't do anything but try to be there for all of them- and plot, lots of plotting of future plans that may or may not work.

"Hey," Elena sighed out with a weak smile in their directions as she sat down.

The three girls exchange looks but echoed the greeting.

Stefan silently dragged an extra chair to push in front of their now crowded table; the way his chair was placed, unfortunately, for him at least, put him directly under the gazes of all four girls.

Before anyone could say anything more, a waitress approaches their table with a bright smile that was so wide it had to hurt.

"What can I get for you guys?" The vaguely familiar waitress asked them with a smile. They get coffee all around and enough food to feed a few hungry teenagers. As the waitress leaves to go get their order, Caroline pounces on Elena with all the curiosity of the news reporter the blonde teenager inspires to be one day.

"So.. what's with the all the secrecy?" Caroline asked aiming a demanding look towards Elena. "There's.. something you should know," Elena responded as she looked towards Stefan in a silent question.

After getting a hesitant nod from Stefan; Elena began explaining everything to Caroline. Despite their teasing, if one of them asked Caroline to keep a secret, she would guard it with her life. Caroline doesn't deserve to be left out, to be excluded from what is becoming a big part of their lives, especially since the rest of them already know. Clearly, and thankfully, Elena feels the same way.

"Oh my god, wow. So... are you like Bella Swan now?" Caroline breathed out as she reclined back in her chair, subtly, not so subtly staring at an awkward Stefan.

Nova snorted in amusement, sharing an amused look with Bonnie as Elena glared halfheartedly at Caroline. Halfheartedly, because it's Caroline, and of course, she was going to bring up Twilight when learning that Vampires are real and two are in Mystic Falls.

Nova doesn't know how Elena got Stefan to agree to this 'confession' of sorts- but Caroline's taking this surprisingly well, although they'll most likely be freakouts, much, much later.

Once the reality of the situation sinks in, everyone freaks out.

Before Elena could reply to that, the waitress came back outside with their coffee and food on a giant tray. There was a basket stuffed with different kinds of breakfast muffins, two plates of their signature pecan waffles, with a side of bacon.

Nova latched her hands onto her coffee like an octopus, she also ignored the stares she was gaining from her obscene moaning as she took a long sip.

"Hi, my name is Elena Gilbert, I've been your best friend for a while now." Elena sassed towards Caroline's earlier quip as the waitress left them with one last slightly disturbingly bright smile.

Caroline huffed and rolled her eyes as she grabbed a muffin, Bonnie was content with her bacon and waffles, unlike Nova who grabbed two chocolate muffins to go with her plate of waffles. As everyone else dug into their food, Elena and Stefan stared at each other, it wasn't that romance novel stare- or the anime heart eyes, but it was the; 'I'm trying to look into your fucking soul' stare. Nova bit into a piece of bacon while watching feeling like watching she was watching a fucking soap opera, only with more death, and Supernatural bullshit, she thought dryly, watching the couple.

"You said you would explain everything. That's why I asked you to meet us here." Elena stated staring at Stefan blankly, trying to mask her emotions.

Elena's tight grip on her mug was a tell that she wasn't handling this as well as she would like, only her friends seemed to catch it though. Bonnie placed a gentle hand on Elena's arm to remind her that they're all here for her.

Elena relaxed slightly but continued, "When you Google 'vampire' you get a world of fiction... what's the reality?"

"I'll tell you whatever you wanna know," Stefan replied earnestly, his eyes mostly on Elena while he said this.

"I know you eat garlic," Elena spoke questioningly, leaning back in her chair. "Yes," Stefan replied simply, his eyes never stray from Elena's own eyes. The rest of them managed to stay mostly silent as they ate.

"And somehow, sunlight's not an issue," Elena stated, playing nervously with the tear in her jeans.

"He doesn't sparkle." Caroline murmured disappointedly into her coffee cup. Nova patted Caroline's hand absently, trying to smile consolingly, but it probably came off placating.

"It is- an issue that is," Nova spoke up, drawing everyone's attention towards her. "All it takes is a little magic and lapis stone, and voila."

Let it be never said Nova would ever be best friends with idiots; Elena and Caroline's gazes went straight towards the hand Stefan wears his Salvatore lapis lazuli 'family' ring, it was hard to miss.

"Crucifixes?" Elena asked after a moment of silence.

"Decorative."

"Holy water?"

"Drinkable."

Nova knows that Elena's asking Stefan instead of the twins because despite them both being a fucking Supernatural Encyclopedia with how much Grams taught them, Elena needs her undead boyfriend to answer, considering this is his secret.

"Animal blood keeps me alive. But not as strong as Damon, he can be very powerful."

Damon's name made her reluctantly pull herself out of her thoughts. Nova almost laughed at the thought of Damon being 'very powerful', but managed to keep it in last second. Sure, human blood made Damon more powerful than Stefan, but Damon's diet isn't the reason he gets away with half the shit he does; it's because he's clever, charming, and just a little bit devious. Well, he can be smart when he's not letting a woman lead him by his undead heart- and balls. The point is- people let their guards down around him despite the fact it's painfully obvious the guy is an asshole. Charisma, such a scary thing.

"He's the one who's been killing people. All those animal attacks- He was in my home- I was alone with him, we all were." Elena realized, caught between frightened and terrified. Stefan looked as though he wanted to reach out, to reassure her, comfort her, but he stilled his hand at the last moment. Caroline looked uneasy at the sudden reality that not all Vampires are Cullens and one had multiple chances to eat her.

And Nova sighed and resigned herself to having to explain, again, why Damon won't be hurting anyone she cares about.

Seven fucking hells, maybe she should tattoo everything she has keeps having to repeatedly explain, it's the same way for whenever she has to explain her extensive knowledge, she's sure it'll get even more complicated when she has to explain her being a reincarnated soul and all.

Fun shit.

"Damon won't be hurting any of you," Bonnie spoke up confidently, surprising them all in the process. But then again- Nova isn't the only one in their little 'group' who can be a little, okay, really overprotective. "Nova made sure of that," Bonnie answered the silent question that was in their friend's eyes.

"What-" Elena started to question at the same time Caroline opened her mouth, no doubt to ask some very similar questions.

"Doesn't matter, not right now, I'll tell you later." Nova waved it away, ignoring the inquiring gazes thrown her way from all sides.

She'd rather explain later, than outside where anyone could be eavesdropping.

"Promise," Caroline asked, but it was more like a demand.

"Promise," Nova replied sincerely, making sure to remain eye contact with her.

Elena and Caroline both relaxed at the promise whilst Stefan looked in quiet curiosity.

"I know that none of you have a reason to trust me," Stefan began to say, pulling everyone eyes away from Nova and towards him. "But I swear to you I'll do everything in my power to protect you- all of you," Stefan declared this more to Elena than the rest of them but his words rang with sincerity.

The thought of anyone trying to protect Nova didn't make her angry or wound her not so inner feminist side, it just amused her. The only people who've ever protected her are friends and family and the older she got, the surer-footed she got in this universe, in this life, the less protection Nova has needed over the years. She's not sure she'd allow anyone to protect her anyway, she knows how stupid it sounds, but she wants to protect the ones she loves, not the other way around.

Nova doesn't voice this just smiles placatingly when Stefan finally turned his gaze away from the somewhat relieved Elena and towards the rest of them.

"...But I need your reassurances that you won't tell anyone about what we are. There was a time when this town was very much aware of vampires. It didn't end well for anybody." Stefan continued hesitantly, finally broaching the issue he'd most likely been waiting to bring up since he arrived. She's honestly surprised he managed to wait that long.

"I've known for a while. I'm not going to spill now, my lips are sealed." Nova stated after finishing eating her last waffle. Stefan did that head nod thing that makes Nova look stupid when she does it, silently taking her statement with silent gratefulness.

"You've kept our secret. And in return, we'll keep yours." Bonnie spoke up next, trying to smile, but only came up with a lip quirk. Stefan did the nodding thing again, his eyes went to the practically mute Elena, but it wasn't her that spoke next.

"I won't tell anyone. If only because I'm like.. eighty percent sure I'd be eaten if I did, and not in a fun way." Caroline added the last bit underneath her breath but still managed to be heard by everyone.

Elena sighed in exasperation but didn't say anything, just started tapping her finger anxiously on her untouched coffee cup. Nova reached over and stole Elena's cup of coffee, ignoring the glare sent her way because coffee must not be wasted-

Even if it is cold and has too much sugar added, and wow, that is way too sweet. She made an effort not to spit it out, really she did, but when no one was looking, she spat the coffee back into the cup.

_Sugar overload crisis averted._

Stefan cleared his throat awkwardly and despite his obvious reluctance with telling Caroline his secret, he answered genuinely; "Thank you."

Caroline nodded at him as though she was a queen granting him a favor, the dramatics of her friend made both twins roll their eyes affectionately.

"I... I don't know if I can promise that." Elena spoke up reluctantly when Stefan turned to the only one who hadn't spoken up. Nova would be shocked that it was everyone but Elena who promised to keep The Salvatore brother's super duper secret- If it wasn't for the fact that the rest of the girls while they like the eternal teenager, they hadn't told him their life stories, thinking they'd get the same in return, only to learn that he'd been hiding a few hundred years worth of skeletons in his closet.

"Elena...give me today, I'll answer any questions that you have. And when it's over, you can decide for yourself what you want to do with what you know. It'll be your choice." Stefan's pleading eyes must have convinced Elena because she nodded in acceptance of his request.

* * *

The maybe-not-a-couple anymore left together a few minutes later, Bonnie had tried to follow them, but as Nova pointed out- They'd been alone a lot of times in a lot more intimate settings and he hadn't killed Elena yet. Besides, if Stefan wanted to share his story with all of them he would have invited them along, he hadn't, she can respect that. Her lack of curiosity most likely has something to do with how she probably knows Stefan's story better than he does.

Bonnie had thankfully relented and sat back down; the three teenagers chatted idly for a while, but it wasn't long before they too left, each of them lost in their thoughts.

Nova started walking towards Grams house on tired feet, the elder Witch was more than likely at work but had given the twins both keys to the place years ago, and she didn't want to go back home to see if her father had managed to do his disappearing act yet. Grams' home was one of the only places where she could do Magic freely without the worry of being caught. Nova was unlocking the door when her phone rang, she rolled her eyes when she took it out of her jacket pocket to see it was, _surprise, surprise_ , Damon.

"I'm bored." Was the first thing she heard when she reluctantly answered the call.

The second thing she could hear was music, a crash, and an obviously female giggle in the background.

"...You don't sound bored." Nova answered dryly, holding the phone between her ear and shoulder while opening the door.

Nova understands the plague that is boredom, but Damon sounds more drunk than bored, and him being bored isn't really her problem.

"Come entertain me." Damon ignored her reply and demanded something of her with the ease of someone who's used to getting what he wants.

Nova wonders if the Vampire will ever learn that while she's sexually attracted to him, and actually doesn't mind helping him, she's not going to jump when he tells her how high.

"One little problem about that, I'm not a prostitute. The only person who I'm willing to 'entertain' is myself, sorry." Nova replied in faux-apology as she toed off her shoes at the door. She moved into the living room, dropping down on the small rug in front of the small fireplace with a relieved sigh as her feet got much-needed relief, she lit the fireplace with a silent; _Incendia_. Once the flames roared to life in the fireplace, she threw her jacket on the couch, setting her phone on speakerphone before placing it on the table.

"Then what do I pay you for?" Damon sounded annoyed and drunk, definitely not a good combination for anyone in his vicinity.

"You don't pay me- at all. Dumbass." Nova added the last part under her breath, knowing he could still hear it, but not really caring. She absently lifted her palm towards the only bookshelf in the room, watching as the correct book flew off the top shelf, smacking against her palm with a soft thud. Nova's using the excuse that she would never be able to reach the top shelf for her laziness- it's a valid one, she is only 5'3.

"Have you found my ring?" Damon changed the subject none too subtly.

Nova has to restrain herself from rolling her eyes, it's honestly becoming a bad habit, and when she miraculously succeeds, she responded, "You didn't ask me to, so no, I haven't,"

The book was of the Magical variety, explaining all the different ways to break a spell that isn't your own, the only Magical books Grams bothers to hide are The Bennett's heirlooms. If someone ever saw the things they used for spells in the home- like the strings that hung their herbs in the kitchen window or the variety of crystals placed around the room- it'd be waved off as Sheila Bennett, being Sheila Bennett. Grams had became known as an old, slightly delusional, drunk recluse, they got three out of four right.

Grams is old and can't hold her liquor for shit- and the older woman barely interacts with anyone in town.

For good reason- they call Grams crazy, but everyone in this town is just as batshit.

"But your brother is getting it as we speak, don't worry." Nova spoke up after hearing him shush someone in the background.

Fingers and toes crossed that its just some random girl- and fuck, that sound a little shitty even if it was only in her head.

"Mmm, and if my baby bro decides he doesn't want to give it back?"

"You say that like you don't trust him." She returned in false confusion as she flipped to the page she had bookmarked last time.

"I trust him about as much as I can ruffle his perfectly gelled hair." Damon chuckled darkly, suddenly sober.

"It is perfectly gelled isn't it?" She hummed in agreement ignoring that she had toed into the minefield that is the Vampire brother's relationship. "You'll get the ring, I know," Nova spoke with meaning as she flipped through the pages.

Nova always tries to be careful with her words, despite how flippant they seem sometimes when she speaks, the words she uses usually has a purpose because before she had her Magic- she had her words.

Damon obviously got what she was trying to tell him, and, thank fuck, let it go.

Nova could hear the same female's voice again and bit her lip; Matt would never forgive her if he ever found out she did nothing to help his sister, they've been friends for years, known each other for more, she'd been a sucky friend in her old life, she really wants to try not be one in this one. "Who is that singing? Quite horribly might I add." She asked with resignation as she abandoned the book on the floor and walked towards the kitchen.

Plotting would be so much easier if she hadn't had years to get attached and started seeing everyone in this little town as people instead of just characters in a story.

"Why, jealous?" Damon asked, his teasing question summoned an eye roll faster than the Winchester brothers summon Demons.

"Just mildly concerned for the poor soul that has to interact with you. Especially when you're homicidal and moody." Nova replied while she put on the kettle and pulled out her favorite homemade tea, it was a mix of mint and dried lavender- she may have a small obsession with lavender.

"Ouch. That almost hurt my undead heart." He avoided the question with annoying ease, but the voice that pipped up again, this time closer, just confirmed it was Vicki Donovan.

"Damon, I wasn't just being my lovely sarcastic when I asked you to be careful," Nova announced suddenly when the voices slowed in speech, indicating the conversation was over.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Nova jumped when the teakettle whistled, turning the burner off before she started to methodically fix her tea as she weighed her choices carefully because just 'cause Damon trusts her, very reluctantly, does not mean she trusts him.

And it certainly doesn't mean she trusts this universe.

"This town is very small, and their ancestors- your best buds- were very bitter and small minded. They never forgot, and they made sure their children never forgot." Nova worded it carefully as she could, hopefully, it wasn't too vague.

She's getting really good at this vague thing though.

"Are you saying what I think you are?" Damon whispered harshly into the phone.

"Just- try not to draw attention to yourself." With that, she hung up and turned her phone on silent.

Hopefully, no one will die by the time she finished her pot of tea.

* * *

Halloween was coming up soon and as usual, Nova was one of the many suckers who got roped into helping Caroline plan the schools Halloween festival. This time she was helping with not only the decorations but the music. She was compiling the list on the upstairs computer in the twins old room when she got an S.O.S text from Elena; the four of them used to use S.O.S texts for simple things like getting out of bad dates, or that one time they had to help Caroline sneak out of the house.

Obviously, Nova rushed to The Gilbert's home, 'cause this town is going to get even crazier and for all she knows, there might actually be a sinking ship.

Nova skipped knocking on the door when she got there and just used the key that was hidden in the smallest flower pot. Not bad for a hiding space, but she's seen Elena use it when she'd been drunk enough to leave her key at a party.

"She'll be fine. It'll all be fine." Elena sounded like she was trying to convince herself rather than Jeremy.

Elena visibly jumped at the sound of Nova entering unannounced, but Jeremy just looked ready to run out the now open door.

Well, fuck a duck, Nova thought irritably, Jeremy is only over eager when it comes to Vicki, meaning someone didn't listen to her.

"Sorry. You S.O.S'd me." Nova stated questioningly, closing the door behind her before Jeremy could act on any of his ideas. Elena sighed calming down minorly, she waved Nova's half-assed apology off, turning to her brother.

"Uhm, Jer, could you go upstairs," Jeremy looked like he was about to protest, Elena continued, "Nova and I need to talk about... girl stuff."

Jeremy made a disgusted face, but left, stomping up the staircase moodily, like the teenager he is. It is a little amusing that he thinks they'd start talking about shit like 'girl stuff' in the living room.

What the fuck even qualifies as 'girl stuff' anyway?

"Girl stuff?" Nova questioned with an amused grin and raised a brow as she walked further into the house.

"Caroline and Bonnie will be here soon. But I need you to tell me what you did to make you trust Damon not to kill us." Elena ignored her friend's amusement with the way she got rid of her brother.

"Trust is a strong word..." Nova started to avoid the question but sighed at Elena's undeterred expression. "There's not much to say, he came into town, he started getting close to the people I love. I made sure he wouldn't hurt the people I love the only way I know how. Magic." Nova answered just as the doorbell rang.

Elena, having lived in the safe and welcoming version of Mystic Falls, opened the fucking door without checking to see who it was, only to then try to close the door when she saw it was Damon instead of their best friends.

Damon, lovely asshole he is, pushed back when Elena tried to shut the door in his face. "You're afraid of me. Congrats, it took you less than a month to figure out the family secret." He said in amusement as Elena finally gave up on pushing him out.

Nova came closer to the door, standing firmly by the nervous-but-trying-not-to-show-it Elena.

"Of course she's scared. I mean look at your face, you seem like the type to scare teenage girls for fun." Nova announced her presence, silently wishing he would just take the hint and go the fuck away.

Of course, Lady Luck fucking hates her and he doesn't get the hint- or doesn't care, probably the latter.

"No need to be rude, Bennett. I'm just looking for Stefan." Damon responded with a wounded expression, looking around the home as though Stefan was going to pop out of the woodwork.

If someone other than Damon had given her that wounded look she'd think they were hurt by her words. On him, he just looked like he was privately enjoying the little ways he could annoy the shit out of her since he can't kill anyone she cares about and his threats roll off her back.

"May I come in? Oh, wait- Of course, I can. I've been invited." He made a big show of stepping into the house.

Nova rolled her eyes at the dramatics, silently taking Elena's hand when the taller teen hurriedly stepped back from the gloating Vampire, dragging Nova with her as Damon strode towards them.

"I'm not going to kill you now-"

"He's not going to kill you ever, cause he knows he'd die if he did." Nova interrupted with an irritated frown on her face. She'd quite literally kill someone for some food and sleep right about now, she internally moaned. On the outside, Nova just stood silently in front of Elena as casually as she could without drawing attention to the action.

"Right. Where's Stefan?" Damon sighed out and rolled his eyes at Nova as though it was her being the asshole.

"He's out looking for Vicki," Elena answered with an accusing glare, pulling herself up tall and standing next to Nova instead.

First, Elena was scared, which she doesn't blame her for- but now she's challenging him, a Vampire- Nova changes her min; All of them are fucking idiots.

"Don't look at me with those judgy little eyes. You should be thankful she got herself killed with my blood instead of without it." Damon looked mildly amused at the sight of a mere 'human' trying to go toe to toe with him.

Nova, though, ignored the showdown that has a certain tension to it that isn't all due to fear and intimidation, instead, she thought about what he just said;

'You should be thankful she got herself killed with my blood instead of without it.'

Nova doesn't have a perfect memory, can't remember small plot moments for shit, but she's good with words, and those words basically hint at- what he basically, probably unintentionally hinted at is-

"You didn't kill her," Nova mumbled bringing attention to herself as they finished whatever the fuck they were talking about.

"Who?" Damon looked confused and caught off guard as did Elena who hadn't even heard what Nova had said.

"You didn't kill Vicki, did you?" Nova asked trying not to roll her eyes at the sexual tension that'd been in the air.

Every single person in this town are horny fuckers, herself included.

"No. I have some standards about who I'd turn." Damon sounded haughty and offended.

Nova calls bullshit, he has little to none standards.

"If you didn't kill Vicki, how is she..." Elena didn't look completely convinced by Damon's 'innocence'.

Which, fair enough, Nova's pretty sure Damon hasn't been 'innocent' for centuries, if ever.

"A lady of the night?" Damon whispered jokingly, leaning in towards a nervous Elena and he smirked when his joke earned him a reluctant snort of amusement from Nova, who got a look from Elena.

You know, that look that asks; _what the fuck are you doing?_

Answer; she doesn't fucking know, story of her fucking life.

"Don't know, don't care. I'd try to stay out of her way- she looked a little...unstable." He answered nonchalantly, as he ignored the teen glaring daggers at him.

His words were a little ironic since he's more than a little unstable.

Nova's not sure if she's happy or wary that something else changed; she'll have to settle for both, seeing as somehow, without Damon snapping her neck for shits and giggles, Vicki still died.

This better not be some 'fate' bullshit, her least favorite bullshit.

"Tell my brother I'm looking for him," Damon walked towards the door, opening it to reveal Bonnie and Caroline, the latter fist raised to knock on the now open door.

He only acknowledged them with a mocking smirk as he moved past the startled teens without waiting for them to walk into the house.

"Oh- tip for later; be careful who you invite in the house." Damon mocked towards the Gilbert while walking backward off the porch.


	13. We're all so damn cliche, it hurts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Witches, Vampire Bitches and Cliches that'd put you in stitches.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Herlooooo, hope you enjoy this chapter, it was fun to make, and might be fun to read idfk. Enjoy! 
> 
> For Nova's face claim, outfit, car, Familiar, everything really, go to my Polyvore; randomfashionsxoxo, it's in a collection.

Elena made sure to slam and lock the door as soon Caroline and Bonnie walked into the house.

"What was... _that_?" Bonnie asked, indicating towards the now closed door, her face showing how wary and bewildered she was.

Jeremy shuffled down the stairs before Elena could answer the question, he carefully avoided looking at them as he moved towards the living room, turning on his PlayStation. Elena sighed as she motioned towards the stairs, the three of them of them followed her up the stairs and into her room.

"Okay, spill. What was Spike here for?" Caroline demanded to know as soon as the door was locked behind them.

"He was looking for Stefan, who is looking for Vicki, who is in... transition to become a vampire. Because of Damon." Elena explained in a rush, she nervously locked her window and pulled the curtain.

Locking doors and windows won't do much against a human, let alone a Vampire. Nova wisely kept her thoughts to herself, choosing to sit down on the window seat.

"Vicki? Matt's sister? Vicki Donovan? That Vicki?" Caroline questioned in disbelief. Bonnie also looked shocked, less than Caroline, but shocked all the same.

"Mhm." Elena hummed, she nodded her head like a bobblehead as she sat down next to Nova.

"Shit." Bonnie cursed as Caroline sat down on Elena's bed, Bonnie soon sat down next to the blonde, watching their friends in concern.

"Yup, that about sums this entire situation." Nova agreed with her sister's assessment. Nova had to pulverize the small margin of guilt that tried to make her take the blame for not trying hard enough to save a girl who never wants to be saved.

"What do we do? How do we tell Matt his sister might want to eat him for a snack?" Caroline asked suddenly after they'd remained silent for a long few minutes.

The twins shared a glance that spoke volumes about how much they didn't want to tell Matt; for one, he'd try to kill The Salvatore's, she couldn't exactly blame the guy, if someone hurt Bonnie she'd make sure they suffered for longer than her lifespan, but it'd end badly for all of them if Matt decided he wanted to play Hunter.

"We can't, Caroline. You heard what Stefan said about what happened the last time this town learned about vampires. Besides she hasn't turned yet, she has to drink blood or something?" Elena said in question towards the twins, who nodded in confirmation.

"You have to die with vampire blood in your system. And then drink human blood to complete the transition." Bonnie explained the process of becoming a Vampire to a slightly confused Caroline.

Elena stood up suddenly and started pacing at a speed that made Nova dizzy as she watched her friend pace around the small room.

"We can't tell him. He would freak if he knew, I'm freaking! And he's already got so much going on- and don't give me that look Caroline. " Elena finally stopped rambling nervously, looking towards a now slightly sheepish Caroline.

"Hey, no looks, zero judgments," Caroline raised her hands in a placating motion.

Elena shot the blonde a frown with raised eyebrows, not believing her. "Okay, maybe a little judgment," the blonde amended, continuing before Elena could speak, "It's just, Lena, it's Matt." Bonnie had to dodge Caroline's hands as the blonde asserted to them as though it explained everything- and it did.

Sweet Matt, who'd been left in the hands of his teenage sister when their mother abandoned them.

He's multitasking trying to get into college with an athletic scholarship, which will be next to impossible with their football coach dead, he works at the Mystic Grill on weekends to help Vicki pay the bills, and has to keep his grades up because if he doesn't, he can kiss college goodbye.

The cherry on the fucking top; his sister technically just died and he doesn't even know.

"I know, I want to. But, we just _can't_." Elena spoke dejectedly and started pacing again, her fingers running through her hair.

Nova takes full blame for giving her friend that bad habit.

Nova shot her twin an urging glance as it was Bonnie's turn to deal with their friend's freakouts seeing as Nova had dealt with the last few; the twins are the 'therapist' of the group, they like to take shifts.

Bonnie sighed as she got up, laying a hand on Elena's shoulder to stop her from pacing. "Relax, inhale, exhale," Bonnie stated firmly.

Elena did as she was instructed, breathing in and out, calming down marginally. "I'm sure Stefan will find Vicki. And then we can go from there. It'll be fine, won't it, Nova?" Everyone in the room turned towards the teenager who was now attempting to disappear into the window seat.

Bonnie had been doing so well before she brought Nova into this, there was literally nothing Nova could say that'd make any of them feel better.

"Uhm, yeah, tots..." Nova trailed off and tried to grin reassuringly but failed so much it was painful to look at.

Caroline groaned falling back into the pillows, Bonnie sighed and Elena's nerves came back but she, thankfully, didn't start pacing again and sat back down.

"How did this even happen? How did she die?" Caroline questioned, playing with the ears of Elena's old teddy bear that'd been laying on the bed.

"Damon said he gave her his blood. And then she _apparently_ died without his knowledge." Elena answered, not buying that Vicki had gotten herself killed instead of Damon killing her.

"And do we believe him?" Bonnie asked her twin, seeing as it was already clear that Elena didn't believe him.

Nova's always been better at reading people without adding personal grudges or attachments to the mix.

"I think that if Damon had turned her, he wouldn't bother hiding it, he'd be gloating about it. He doesn't seem like the type to care if he's painted as the bad guy." Nova explained as her phone buzzed in her jacket pocket. Speak of the devil and he shall appear, Nova thought dryly, as she read the message;

_'You were right'- Damon_

_'Course I was'- Nova_

Nova texted back quickly, not bothering to play dumb, she then quickly put her phone back in her pocket when she sent the text.

"He does seem like he likes being a massive dick." Caroline voiced her thoughts. Bonnie nodded in agreement as a thoughtful look appeared on her face, she gave Nova an _'We need to talk later'_ look.

Nova nodded in full agreement, she could see her twin was currently thinking what she'd been speculating about for the past fifteen minutes; if Damon didn't kill Vicki, what or who did?

Elena started to say something, but the doorbell chimed. "Probably Stefan," Elena announced as she got up again, her nerves obviously kicking up a notch. "I should get it." Elena didn't move, just stared at the door like it was going to eat her, which was an ironic thought, considering.

"What are you going to say to him?" Caroline asked, gently drawing Elena's attention towards them as they all got up from their individual perches.

"I can't be with him anymore," Elena said in realization, the confession shocked everyone in the room.

Well, that certainly didn't last long, Nova thought to herself, slightly confused. She jokingly predicted the breaking up over the whole undead thing, but can't really remember if they broke up before the fuckfest that was _'season three'_.

"I know he means well but our relationship was built on some... pretty dangerous lies. I thought it'd be a fresh start but... it just wasn't the one I was looking for." Elena answered dejectedly, her brown eyes were sad just at the thought.

"Do you want us to come down with you?" Nova suggested despite knowing the answer.

They could hear Jeremy pausing his game to finally get up to answer the door, eventually calling Elena's name, really loudly.

"No, I need to do this alone. If you could just-" Elena bit her lip hard as tears welled up in her eyes.

"I'll get the ice cream,"

"I'll get the tissues,"

"And... I'll kick Jeremy out the living room and put on a horror film so horrifying you'll never think about romance again." Nova offered when all the good stuff got taken.

"Thanks." Elena gave them an exhausted smile, hesitantly opening the door, finally leaving the room.

They all went about doing what'd they'd promised to do while Elena led Stefan towards the porch to talk outside.

Bonnie got every ice cream flavor that was in the freezer and stacked them on the living room table.

Caroline grabbed two boxes of Kleenex from the upstairs bathroom and a brush; it was something Miranda used to do whenever one of the girls was upset, it always somehow just worked. Nova hadn't realized how much she missed having a mother until Miranda first brushed her hair after Nova had spent the first hour of her first slumber party in the bathroom sobbing, she'd been five and homesick for a home she hadn't really known was lost.

As promised, Nova paused Jeremy's game, and, ignoring his protests, she mercilessly dragged him out of the living room and into his room; it's not like his team had been even winning with the way he'd been getting sniped down every two seconds after his respawn.

Minutes later, Nova had picked one of the many 'Scary Movie', which was more of a comedy than a horror, but the corniness of it should avert Elena's attention from her dying romance. She almost chose Twilight since it's such a terribly cliche movie it should be classified a comedy. But it didn't seem appropriate given the circumstances, no matter how much she thinks it'd be hilarious, given the circumstances.

Nova conveniently ignored how when the movie came out in her old world she'd been obsessed with it and had been; Team Jacob 4 ever.

Caroline was setting out snacks with the help of Bonnie when they all paused when they heard the door shut and a strange noise.

The girls all turned to see Elena breaking down in quiet sobs, hiccuping as she slid down against the closed door, the sight was more than a little heartbreaking for all of them to witness, the last time they saw Elena cry was at her parents funeral.

They hesitated for a second, but eventually Bonnie rushed over to help her up. Caroline sped over to her as well, offering a box of Kleenex, only to start dabbing the sobbing teen's tears herself while Nova wrapped a blanket around Elena. They led her to the living room where they'd cut off all the lights and the movie was already playing. Caroline guided Elena to sit in front of the couch, which she did without comment, too busy trying to stop crying to pay attention.

Caroline sat down next to the twins on the couch and started to brush Elena's long brown hair that had become slightly tangled, "I could have loved with him," Elena spoke up after twenty minutes of absolutely no one paying attention to the movie.

"Oh, honey. I think you already were falling." Caroline replied sadly, moving the brush through Elena's hair gently.

They stayed like that for hours, talking for hours about random things, things that didn't involve boyfriends; like Magic and how waiting for their favorite shows to come back is practically torture.

It wasn't the happiest of nights but Nova felt content enough to appreciate the company of her best friends as they all piled on the couch and fell asleep talking about new ice cream flavors.

* * *

 "I just don't understand why you want to torture yourself going over there. Because that's what it is you... you _masochist_." Caroline declared the next morning as they all got dressed for school.

Elena sighed at Caroline but overall sat still as Nova carefully applied concealer under the other girl's eyes. All of them stayed up late, or early depending on your point of view, and that meant they all tried out Nova's sleeping schedule that includes only a few hours of sleep; they only woke up because Jenna almost sat on them, it was embarrassing, for Jenna, hilarious to them.

"I'll be fine," Elena reassured a cynical Caroline for what felt like the hundredth time in the hour she'd announced she wanted to go check up on Vicki before she went to school. _Right_ , Vicki is the one she wants to check up on, Nova thought skeptically as she blended the concealer in with a sponge.

"Look- I'm only to say this once, but you were right." Elena grudgingly told to a now confused but slightly haughty Caroline.

"Duh, I'm always right...What was I right about this time?" Caroline inquired sheepishly as she brushed her blonde hair into a ponytail.

"Look. If I can't tell Matt about his sister, I can at least check up on her while she's surrounded by unfamiliar people in a... bizarre situation." Elena spoke determinedly, attempting to finish the discussion once and for all.

Caroline still didn't look entirely convinced by Elena's reasoning, but let it go as Bonnie came into the room from the bathroom.

"Don't worry, Care. I'll be going along to be an emotional buffer. Again." Nova added the last part with a big fake smile in Elena's direction as she capped the other girl's concealer. Elena just shot her an unamused look at the reminder of their many encounters of being stuck in the middle of the Salvatore brother's regular alpha male contests. It was becoming a terrible habit, those two, starting dick measurements in front of them.

"Uhm... Elena... Jeremy is up." Bonnie made the statement sound more like a question as she came into the room, sitting down on the bed to lace up her boots.

Nova can't exactly blame her sister; it is 7 am, and Jeremy's been regularly skipping class to the knowledge of the whole damn town. So, the obvious conclusion is- as always, anything about Jeremy acting weirder than he usually does is more than likely to do with girls, aka Vicki.

Nova might sound a little heartless if she says this out loud, so she won't, but she can't until this Vicki drama is over and done with because just as she'd gotten tired of hearing about The Salvatore's every day when they came into town, she's getting bored of hearing about Vicki drama- which to be fair to the local Vampires, while they've caused a lot of drama lately, _'Vicki Drama'_ has always been a thing.

Elena looked puzzled about what her brother was doing up at this time and dubiously went into the bathroom to check.

"Is she still going?" Bonnie asked them when she was sure Elena was too busy talking to Jeremy to pay attention to their conversation.

"Yeah, she says its because she feels guilty about leaving Matt's sister alone with strangers," Caroline scoffed but proceeded with a roll of eyes, capping her lipgloss, "As if Vicki doesn't do that on a regular basis before she got turned into Drusilla."

Nova and Bonnie wordlessly agreed but otherwise just went about getting dressed. Nova finally stopped procrastinating getting [dressed](https://www.polyvore.com/nova_loves_food/set?id=231321986), mostly because she'd finally gotten cold being only in her underwear and pulled on her print leggings, a grey sweater dress and stole Elena's light blue jean jacket.

Nova eyed her sister across the room as she pulled her socks on, her twin was pulling her dark coffee-colored hair into a braid. She had realized earlier that they hadn't had time to talk more about Emily haunting her dreams, with everything else that'd been happening, it was understandable, but made her feel like a shit sister all the same.

Nova looked towards their blonde friend and was thankful to see she was too busy texting and subtly wandered over to her twin.

It wasn't that she didn't want Caroline to know, but Bonnie hadn't brought up the issue with anyone other her, so she won't say anything until Bonnie was ready; it is a little weird, sharing everything with them after so long of keeping this part of their life hidden.

"Are you okay?" Nova whispered as she gently took over braiding her sister's hair into a one-sided braid.

"Nothings changed, not really," Bonnie whispered back, immediately knowing what Nova was asking about, "The talisman did appear in my bag when I left it behind last night. We might need to try something, anything."

There were very few things that they could do, Damon and Grams would kill them if they destroyed the talisman despite that being exactly what Emily wants and summoning Spirits are tricky.

Tricky, but doable, Nova thought firmly as she looked into her sister's sleepy eyes.

"I'll look up a few summoning spells, but it'd be better if we waited until Halloween." Nova murmured and her twin nodded in agreement, relief in her green eyes.

They had until the end of the Day of the Dead to summon their dead Ancestor from the Other Side.

 _Great_ , this should be fun, she thought sarcastically.

* * *

 "Do you have food? And I mean like the kind humans eat. Not that humans haven't been known to go Hannibal." Nova rambled in a way of greeting as she ducked under Damon's arm that tried blocking the entrance. _Cute_ , like that would ever stop her from stealing their food.

In her old life, she hadn't had such a large appetite, in this life when she's not plotting devious plans, she's eating- maybe it's a Witch thing. Probably just a Nova thing, she thought as she remembered Bonnie's eating habits that would never match hers.

"Good morning to you too," Damon replied, his body still preventing the much less brave Elena from entering the same way Nova had.

"Well do you? Come on, Elena, I'm starving." Nova called out as she looked around trying to remember where she'd seen the kitchen.

"Uhm..." Elena looked towards the smirking Vampire that was practically daring her to try the same thing and then her pleading brown eyes went towards Nova who was behind him.

Honestly, Elena shouldn't be so nervous, she had told the girls everything she did to make sure they'd stay safe from Damon's shit fest.

"Oh, come on, Elena. If he can barge into your home anytime he wants, so can you." Nova ignored the apprehensive glances she was getting from Elena to reach under Damon's arm to grab the other teens arm, yanking her inside with a firm grip.

Damon had no choice but to step aside or risk getting head-butted by Elena, which would have been amusing to see, but didn't happen. Once Elena regained her footing, she glared at Nova as she involuntarily dragged Elena into the- thankfully, correct room.

"Is Stefan here?" Elena asked with a resigned sigh as a silently amused Damon trailed behind them into the kitchen.

"Yep!" Damon answered cheerfully, as he leaned in the archway, watching them both as Nova poured herself a coffee.

It smelt like heaven, better than the brand they have at the Mystic Grill anyway.

"Where is he?" Elena asked when he didn't look as though he was going to tell her.

Nova tuned them out as she looked through all the cabinets, letting out a small hiss of; _'fuck, yes,'_ when she finally found a box of cereal, the box said that it would be expired in a week, but it was food, and she was too lazy to make pancakes.

"I'm going to go look for Stefan. Will you be alright, alone with him?" Elena asked not bothering to whisper now that she knows it'd be useless.

Nova just gave her a thumbs up as she had her mouth stuffed with a bagel she'd found in the refrigerator of all places, she placed two other bagels in the toaster. Elena sighed but left with one last glower in Damon's direction.

"You're quiet. That's not a good sign." Nova commented absently as she finished her stolen food and coffee.

When the other teen left, the Vampire just stood there, staring not at her, but through her; he was either listening to the conversation going on between Stefan and Elena, or thinking about something to do with Katherine, either way, it was fucking creepy.

"What makes you say that?" He finally lost the vacant stare that only dead people have to pay attention to her.

She just stared at him blankly as she politely, and grudgingly, started to clean up her mess, waiting for him to bring up whatever he's thinking about.

"The Council, will they be a problem?" Damon asked suddenly as he finally moved away from the archway, walking over, and surprisingly helping her dry the dishes she'd used. Must be that terrible gentleman phase that never really died when he did, she thought with amusement.

"They could be. But they won't get in your way with getting you what you want." Nova responded vaguely enough just in case unwanted ears where listening. She's not sure if he caught the fact that she didn't deny that they would be a problem, sooner or later.

He must have gotten her subtle as fuck message because he just hummed in acknowledgment before leaving. She's getting super good at this vague wording bullshit- who knew the whole cliche of Seers being vague as shit was a real thing.

Nova was drying her hands on a dishcloth, having eaten another bowl of cereal, when Stefan came in, not entirely surprised to see her, meaning he must have heard her- there's also the little fact that all of the girls are attached to the hip and most of the time stick in pairs.

"Morning!" Nova greeted cheerfully, happy now that she finally got food, she threw the dishcloth on the marble island.

"Morning. I was just getting Vicki some... coffee." Stefan finished lamely when he saw that the coffee pot had been emptied.

"Sorry, I had the last cup." Nova apologized but wasn't very sorry, because- coffee.

But she made effort to at least seem apologetic since Stefan looked stressed out, dealing with a human Vicki was exasperating, she can't imagine what it'd be like to deal with Vampire Vicki. "It's not a problem," Stefan waved off and started the process of making a new pot.

"But, uh..." Stefan started to say something when he saw she was about to leave the room. She raised her eyebrows and waited patiently for him to get his balls back, she hasn't taken them, yet.

"Vicki is going to need a-"

"Daylight ring, I know," Nova finished for him before he could choke up again, now suddenly impatient. "And when she gets her shit together enough not to be a danger to ones I love- she'll get it- but not any sooner."

"I completely understand. And agree." Stefan nodded in agreement as he turned the coffee pot on.

Nova nodded back, slightly awkwardly, before rushing out the room. She must have looked strange, with her practically running from the kitchen. It was just a stray thought wouldn't go away; if Stefan was in the kitchen with her-

Who the fuck was watching Vicki?

When she finally found Elena, her spine was being pressed into the living room archway as she was held up by the throat by Vicki.

She slowed down as she got closer to them, making sure not to bump into anything as she glared in Vicki's direction, her Magic spread throughout her veins. It was as though it'd been sleeping, just waiting to be called on, she repeated a spell inside her head over and over;

_In cruciatu dolorum, In cruciatu dolorum, In cruciatu dolorum._

That was the thing with pain afflicting spells- Harry Potter actually got it right- you have to be really angry for the more powerful ones to work, the angrier you are, the more painful the spell will be.

"I'm gonna see Jeremy whenever I wanna see Jeremy, because I have some fun new toys to play with, and I won't think twice about ripping your little-"

Elena coughed loudly, clasping her throat as Vicki dropped down on the carpet, clutching her head and groaning in agony as Nova compressed Vicki's blood vessels in her brain until they burst, over and over again. "Are you okay, Elena?" Nova asked keeping her eyes on the Vampire, slowly advancing towards the whimpering Vicki.

"I'm fine." Elena managed to cough out, coming to stand near Nova, warily eyeing the now quiet Vicki, who'd presumably passed out from the pain.

Nova kicked the elder teen with her chucks to check; Temporarily dead then, _good._

"What did you do?" Stefan came into the room a little too late, she shot him a frown at the accusing look he gave her, but she stopped the nonverbal spell.

"Next time- Maybe. Just maybe don't leave the newbie vampire alone with a human." Nova told him and with one last glare in his direction, she left the room to find something for Elena's throat.

* * *

 10 minutes later, Vicki was fireman carried by Damon into her temporary room.

Nova shot the passing elder Salvatore an amused look as Vicki's swinging arms _conveniently_ knocked an ugly vase to the ground. She walked over to Elena and Stefan as they continued to talk, the crash of the vase having made them pause; she's not sure, but it feels like they've been talking more than they used to when they were an actual couple.

"- There's no rulebook."

Nova was silent as she held out a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin towards Elena, who took both with a grateful smile.

She ended up having to go into a dead dudes bathroom just to get it, seeing as the rest of the residents in this place are Vampires, and go figure, they don't have pain pills. He won't miss it, being dead and all, but she's so going to get haunted for doing that shit.

"I'll wait in the car." Nova didn't wait for a reply and left before shit could uncomfortable because Stefan had this guilty look on his face, and while she likes him, she really doesn't want to be around an apologetic Stefan, it's almost worse than a brooding Stefan.

A few minutes later she's standing outside around like an idiot because she'd forgotten Elena actually locked the car doors this time. Thank fuck for the fact that Elena rushed out the house faster than Nova had and after she had unlocked the doors, they both got in and left.

"You weren't a very good buffer," Elena commented dryly, her voice still hoarse but better than before.

"Take that back. I totally was a good buffer. I buffered the shit out of you getting killed." Nova joked and counted it as a minor success when she got a small laugh out of Elena.

* * *

School had been boring, as always; whenever she goes to school she has to remind herself why she purposely gets a few shit grades every now and then because technically- Nova could have skipped a few grades be well on her way to graduation by now, but she wants to stay with her friends. Education is important for sure, but her old life had been wasted on trying to keep everyone happy including her old teachers- and then she died, and suddenly stuff like that was less important.

She always makes sure to not look like an idiot, but living her new life is so much more important than a few silly grades that wouldn't mean much when she's long dead.

One thing that made up for a shit day at school was getting ready for the schools Halloween Carnival with her friends. Elena home had been taken over by a mildly insulted Caroline- who had found out Elena had been going to skip the first Halloween festival Caroline and Nova had been allowed to plan. Not to mention they always go together, sometimes Matt and Tyler would tag along, but since they'd been 7 years old and all dressed up as Disney faeries it'd become one of the many little traditions between the four of them.

"Come on, Elena. We always go together, you cannot be the antisocial girl anymore. That's Nova's job." Caroline told Elena with dead seriousness and Nova didn't take it personally and just laughed as she picked up Merlin, who nuzzled her nose in greeting.

She had picked him and her outfit up from home before Caroline had dragged the twins over to The Gilbert's, said blonde held her outfit covered in plastic in one hand, and Elena's hand in the other as they came into the room.

"I don't know, Care. I don't even have a costume." Elena said hesitantly as she was dragged into her own room.

"No excuses. You are going, just accept your fate." Caroline replied dramatically, going over towards where Nova was looking in Elena's closet for something to throw together. They both ignored Elena's overdramatic groan as Bonnie finally came in with her own outfit in hand.

"You know.. this has got to be the first time in a while that we've all been single." Bonnie said in realization out as she stripped down to her undies, pulling on a green blouse with a fake corset and a matching torn skirt.

"You, my dear sister, are right. Maybe we'll be single forever and be forced to use Plan B." Nova said in mock horror as she threw Elena her old cheer uniform, now slightly torn up by Nova's trusty sewing scissors. Elena gave it a slightly nostalgic look as she started grudgingly changing into it.

"I love you all, very dearly," Caroline started to say as she pulled on a skirt, they all waited for the 'but' part, the blonde didn't disappoint; "But I don't want to monogamously live in an apartment with you three until we get old and grey. I want sex, I haven't had sex in weeks."

Nova snorted at her words, sharing an amused glance with her twin as Nova changed into black underwear and bandeau bra.

"I'm hurt. You thought it was a great idea four years ago." Bonnie replied with a faux hurt look in the blonde's direction, now fixing her hair.

"Yeah... I remember we were going to adopt two cats, two dogs, and a..." Elena trailed off looking at Nova in question as she finished zipping herself into the almost too small uniform.

"A yellow boa constrictor," Nova answered as she slipped on an all black bell sleeved dress that was almost too short to be worn around kids.

"And I told you that I won't risk getting strangled by an eighteen feet snake just so you can live your Slytherin Harry Potter fantasy." Caroline shot back as she helped Bonnie with her hair.

Caroline and Nova argued back and forth over the pros and cons of getting a snake as a pet as they all got dressed; as far as Nova is concerned, she won that argument years ago.

Soon they finished getting dressed, the twins ironically dressed as cliche [Witches](https://www.polyvore.com/novas_halloween_outfit/set?id=231321974), hats and all. Nova's Witch outfit was a black high-necked, short-skirted bell sleeved dress, with black ankle boots and cute black star and moon jewelry, whilst Bonnie's wore a green blouse that was a mock corset paired with a darker green skirt that was torn on the bottom with a lot of chunky jewelry.

Elena managed to pull off a good dead cheerleader after Nova overdid it with the skillfully done makeup, she had painted Elena's face to look paler and made a few 'bleeding wounds' with leftover fake blood from last year, and made her eyes look sunken in with dark eyeshadow. Caroline after two long months of debate decided to go as the Cher from the iconic movie Clueless, the outfit and makeup was such a perfect match to how it looked in the movie- it was scary.

There was, of course, some major irony in all of their costumes.

Elena dragged a suspiciously not so reluctant Jeremy with them, and after squeezing into Bonnie's car- as it was Bonnie's turn to be designated driver- she drove them all to the school where the festival was running smoothly thanks to Caroline's careful instructions.

Jeremy, being the annoying little shit he now is, snuck off as soon as he could when they became distracted into a conversation with Matt, dressed in his costume from last year- and thank god Caroline and Nova saved Elena from that embarrassment. Elena being the concerned sister she is, ran off to find Jeremy, leaving the other three teenagers to explore the 'haunted' school that two out of three of them had a hand in helping plan.

"Cool costumes as usual ladies, you look hot," Tyler commented as they passed him, dressed as a pirate, eloquent as one too, "Cider for the ladies? It's the Lockwood special." Tyler offered temptingly before they could say anything, waving his hand at the cauldron that was filled with no doubt; spiked punch, this town is filled with cliches tonight.

It was also hilarious, considering he was supposed to be in charge of making sure no one spiked it.

"Can't, I'm driving. Plus, last year I was hungover until Thanksgiving." Bonnie declined, wincing at the thought of last years hangover.

It had been even more traumatizing for all of them when they had taken the party towards Tyler's house for more free booze. The girls, minus Elena who'd been lovey-dovey with Matt, had woke up, somehow half-naked, on Lockwood property.

It's a wonder that Mrs. Lockwood doesn't loathe them, with her constantly finding them with her son, naked, platonically naked, but naked all the same.

"I'm good. I've got my own." Nova grinned shaking her 'PolyJuice Potion' flask that she had bought online last month, it was filled with cherry vodka.

"Well. I am going to drink until someone is hot enough to make out with." Caroline announced, snatching the giant cup Tyler offered from his hand.

Meanwhile, Nova hissed in pain, letting a clawing Merlin, who she had taken with her, escape her arms, trusting him to stay close.

"Sounds like a plan. Cheers girls." Tyler replied with a smirk, raising his cup in their direction, walking away when his name was called.

"Nova! Caroline! Stop checking out his ass."

"What? We can't help it."

"Yeah, twin, it was right in front of us. How can we not stare?"

* * *

Nova's been charitably helping hand out candy and freshly baked cookies for the past twenty minutes, she had lost her twin and best friend in the crowds almost an hour ago.

Although charitably might be a strong word for what she's doing, she had maybe, most likely, stole some- okay, four handfuls of candy and hid it in her locker. She's currently unapologetically eating the chocolate bat-shaped cookies as she handed out candy to passing kids- who love her because she always gives them two handfuls each of their favorite candy, completely ignoring the five limit rule because _screw that bullshit._

"Merlin, don't you dare."

Merlin turned his 'innocent' green eyes towards her, he had found his way up the tablecloth that the snacks rested on and was trying to push food off the table. The Familiar had been acting angsty and disruptive all night.

This is their first Halloween together in this different universe, so she can't blame him for acting out. Halloween always makes Nova feel unusual, her Magic always becomes more uncontrolled and it always feels like someone is watching her.

Nova has a feeling that Spirits almost always watch them, but its always around this time of year she can feel their gaze, it was more than a little unnerving.

Familiars can feel and see things differently than humans on a completely normal day. But tonight, Merlin could probably feel the change in the atmosphere because as the clock got closer to midnight the stronger the chance that Ghosts and Spirits could interact with the living.

Thank fuck for vodka or this night would be unbearable with the piercing feeling of dead eyes on her.

"There you are."

Merlin turned his head towards the noise, giving her opportunity to pick him up from the table. She ignored his claws sinking past her long sleeves and into her arms to turn towards a pissed off Damon.

"Who pissed in your blood bag?" Nova only asked because she'd been waiting to say that for _weeks._

"Why does _your_ sister have _my_ talisman?" Damon demanded to know, his question made her snort in amusement.

Of course, it's about the talisman, which is connecting to getting Katherine Fucking Pierce. She's still annoyed at how everyone in this town is mooning over unavailable people, emotionally or otherwise. But then again- _she is emotionally unavailable people._

"Oh... you mean the talisman I helped you steal? Emily Bennett's talisman? _My_ ancestor's talisman?" Nova replied to his question, she tilted her head, silently mocking him. Teenagers moving through the crowded halls interrupted the Vampire from responding, Nova and Damon's dark glares kept the teens from spraying them with silly string.

"Did you really think I wouldn't figure out who it belonged to?" Nova asked ignoring the dark look he was sending her, too busy making cooing noises at an angsty Merlin.

"I knew you'd figure it out, I just didn't care, I still don't. I want it back and if you don't get it back I'll just rip it off your sister's neck." Damon threatened her, stepping into her space- because threats always work on her;

_{Insert Sarcasm Here}_

"You've already tried that, haven't you? And it didn't work out like you expected to, huh?" She answered with a knowing grin, she was highly amused by his anger, in fact, she thinks he looks kinda hot when he's angry. You could never really tell what he'd do with that anger, but that was half the fun with Damon- that unpredictable part of him.

She absently wondered what he'd look like really, _truly angry._

Merlin- _it was like he could read her fucking mind_ \- stuck his claws deeper into her arm, meowing loudly, she hissed but didn't let go.

"Look, it'll be fine. You'll get it back when it's time. Now if you excuse me, I need to-" Nova had been about to try to find her sister but a cold hand gripped her arm. Nova's eyes glazed over as she was hit by a sudden Vision;

_"I was so worried about you."_

Nova was having a major moment of pure vertigo, she could only see a row of buses and hear annoyingly loud voices, and a long scream that was stuck on repeat. The bad mix was making her want to vomit even though she couldn't focus on her physical form.

_"I'm fine now, but...I gotta leave."_

_"Come with me." Repeated over and over._

The Vision suddenly faded out as abruptly as it came.

"That was...freaky. And that's coming from me; the guy who regularly takes immense pleasure in freaking people out." Damon told her when he saw that her eyes weren't glazed anymore.

Nova ignored what he said to walk on unsteady feet towards the back entrance of the school, trying not to puke as she shoved her way past a teenager that tried to scare her with his zombie costume. The music she'd picked out was suddenly _too loud_ , and the multicolor lights they'd picked out last month was making her feel sick.

"Wait a minute. Wait just one moment-"

Sadly, it didn't take long for Damon to catch up to her, with him having longer legs and all- Yes, she's still sore about the loss of height- she only made it halfway through the school before he stepped in front of her, his grip firm on her shoulders, unintentionally steadying her still disoriented frame.

"Did you just have a Vision?" He asked thoughtfully, looking into her eyes as she impatiently tapped her foot.

 _"No. I'm just really fucking high-_ Yes, Damon! I had a Vision- and I swear, if my friends die because you decided you wanted to stop for a little 'chat' on the way-" She geared herself up to come up with a very creative threat.

"Okay, fine. I'll bite. What's the big emergency?" Damon interrupted her rant calmly.

Nova huffed in amusement at his choice of words but explained as calmly as she could while rushing towards the back of the school where they always park the buses after school.

* * *

 They had a solid plan by the time they neared the back entrance; the only thing that Nova is doubting is if it'll work or not. Merlin was missing but she wasn't worried, he'd find her sooner or later and she doesn't have time to find him right now while Elena and Jeremy are in danger.

Nova and Damon shared a glance as they hear a terrified scream;

_"Vicki!"_

Nova curbed the terrible urge to play Gryffindor and run towards Elena and Jeremy's screams and instead watched Damon, as planned, went in first, closing the door behind him.

 _"It's two against one now, Vicki. You really won't win this fight. So stop hiding and then we can go back to being one little dysfunctional vampire family."_ She started counting when she heard the older Vampire start threatening the younger Vampire;

_Five._

_Four._

_Three._

_Two._

_One._

She snuck out the door, taking care not to breathe too loudly despite knowing her heartbeat more than likely gave her away.

The first thing she noticed was a shaken and bleeding Elena leaning on Jeremy, both trying to make their way towards the door, the second thing she noticed was that Damon had successfully lured Vicki out into the open. Nova held a finger to her lips in a shushing motion as Elena and Jeremy hid behind a bus when Vicki showed herself.

"That's the thing, guys," Vicki appeared in front of the brother's, too cocky for her own good, too high on the power she had over humans to realize she had none over the Vampires in front of her.

"I don't want to learn any more rules about being a vampire- I'm finally free to do whatever the hell I want. I don't want your help. "

Nova rolled her eyes at the villain speech as she carefully snuck past the bus where her friends hid, ignoring Elena's worried gaze and carefully walked around different buses to get behind Vicki.

"You might not want it, Vicki. But trust me, you need our help-" Stefan's speech was cut off by Vicki's scoff.

"What? So you can guide me in trying to choke down revolting animal blood. No thanks, human blood is so... much better."

Nova hoped the brothers kept up their little chat because she was almost behind Vicki and it'd be super lame if she died this way.

"I don't want to tell you I told you so brother, but-" Damon couldn't help but poke fun at his brother's method of trying to stick his diet plan on other people. Which, not cool, they probably wouldn't even be in this mess if Vicki learned to deal with human blood before jumping to the bunnies _, probably._

She can't say for sure because, Vicki is an addict, even if she won't admit it, and since she can't get high off of drugs anymore she might become addicted to human blood more than the average Vampire, but, still, starting the animal diet first is not smart, even Nova knows that and she's a Witch.

"Not now, Damon." Stefan for his part didn't even look at Nova as she crouched next to a bus, right behind Vicki, her hand postured out for a spell.

Of course, because she has a laser focus on Vicki- and this universe apparently hates her- she steps in a fucking small puddle of blood.

Nova looked up slightly sheepishly at the face of pissed off Vicki Donovan as her heart practically galloped; although she isn't sure if her heart is racing with fear or excitement. Either way, her Magic reacted to her swirling emotions, nearly bursting with an intensity that Nova's rarely felt.

"And you! Oh, I can't wait until I get my hand on you. You fucking bitch!" Vicki shouted at her, her angry eyes turning a dark crimson and teeth sharpening as she slowly stalked towards her.

The first rookie mistake Vicki made was voicing her displeasure, clueing Nova in that she was about to be attacked; the second mistake was instead of using that neat Vampire speed, the younger Vampire wanted to prolong her hunt by stalking towards the Witch slowly.

This all gave Nova more than enough time, less than ten seconds, to think of a spell."Nova!" Elena yelled as the noob Vampire came closer and closer, faster with each step. Nova decided to ignore the yell in favor of clenching her still raised palm into a fist instinctively as a spell ran through her mind;

_Inténde, non spiritus, accipere non caeli_

This time, with her emotions running high, it worked the first time and her Magic immediately seized Vicki's airways.

The young Vampire grabbed her throat in confusion, gasping for air that wouldn't come no matter how hard she tried to breathe.

The third mistake and final mistake Vicki had made was turning her back on her other opponents; Damon took advantage of that mistake to rush behind Vicki, quickly snapping her neck. Vicki's body hit the asphalt with an audible _thud_ that made Nova wince in mock sympathy.

"No! Vicki!"

Maybe she should feel a little sympathetic for the sobbing Jeremy as he clutched Vicki's limp body, and she is, for the most part, but somehow all she can think about is how much of a disappointment that so-called fight had been.

"Huh, I thought that'd be harder," Nova commented as she walked closer to the brothers as they watched Elena comfort Jeremy.

"Well. I never doubted us for a moment." Damon commented as he watched Jeremy cry in sadistic amusement.

Jackass.

"Mmm.. is anyone going to tell them that she isn't- You know, dead, dead? Just undead." Nova commented just as the back door slammed open again, the three of them all turned towards the noise.

Bonnie stood in the doorway, both hands outstretched, a fierce look in her eye that made even Nova a little terrified.

"Uhm. You're a little late to the party, Bon-Bon." Nova spoke up after an awkward pause where the only thing anyone could hear was the music coming from the still ongoing festival and Jeremy's sobbing.

"...Is it safe to come out yet, Bonnie? Merlin looks hungry, you know how he gets grumpy when he's hungry. Kind of like his owner."

They could hear a very drunk Caroline babble from behind an embarrassed-but-trying-not-to-show-it Bonnie.

It was all very adorable.

"I'll guess, I'll just- explain." Stefan sighed, ignoring his brother's amused eyes, he walked over towards a crying Jeremy, the temporarily dead Vicki and Elena who was trying to comfort her brother as best as she could.

* * *

 The girls had all wanted to be there for Elena after everything was said and done, but the other teen had told them that she needed a little time alone while Damon carried Vicki away to be locked up in the cellar for a 'time out', Stefan followed behind Damon to make sure he actually did lock her up.

They understood the need for space, especially considering the three of them had been like glue at Elena's side since her breakup, so, after dropping The Gilbert's off, they successfully snuck a very drunk Caroline past her mother's room and tucked her into the blonde's own room.

The twins wouldn't be sleeping for a while though, instead, when they got home they gathered the items needed and drove to the forest where Grams put up boundary spells up years ago; the elder Witch made it so only those of Bennett blood could see or come through the boundary.

This is where they're finally going to summon Emily's Spirit, they had to do it exactly at midnight or it wouldn't work, thankfully it was only nearing midnight now.

"You ready?" Nova asked as she carefully held Bonnie's hand over a hand-carved wooden bowl that they sat on opposite sides of.

Bonnie bit her lip, faltering, but eventually nodded in acceptance and Nova tried smiling reassuringly as she hesitantly took the sterilized kitchen knife over her sister's open palm firmly as could. Once the blood required was in the bowl, she hurriedly threw the knife on the dirt, placing her now free hands on her sister's bleeding wound, she whispered one of the only healing spells she knew by heart;

 _"Sanguis concrescat."_ They watched as the cut slowly scabbed over, it was still slightly red and most likely tender, but the wound was closed. Grams was better at healing spells than the twins but Grams was currently out of town at a conference for the Occult.

Bonnie carefully cut the sage into the bowl of her blood before hesitantly pulling the talisman off her neck, and into the bowl, while she did that Nova flinched as she yanked a few strands of hair from her scalp, adding it in the bowl, she then dipped a small paintbrush into the odd mix, stirring it before she carefully started drawing a crimson circle on the grass around them.

The hair and blood was the minor sacrifice needed to make the spell successful- equal balance for Nature and all- the talisman would make it so they only summoned Emily and no one else, and the circle of lit sage should keep Emily's Spirit in the circle, preventing a possession, that last part was Nova's idea because she is not letting anyone, even someone of her own blood, possess her twin sister.

They left the circle as soon as it was made, leaving the bowl in the circle. "Okay! Let's summon a Spirit, this is a _great idea_." Nova spoke sarcastically, her twin rolled her eyes at the sarcasm.

"This was _your_ idea, _not mine_."

"I know, I know. But it doesn't make it a good one."

Not to mention that Grams would kill them once she found out they did this without her- Grams was a bigger history nerd than Nova. and Emily was part of that history, Bennett history.

"Let's just get this over with," Bonnie sighed and set the circle ablaze with a glance, obviously impatient.

The fire was as tall as they were and it took almost a full minute for it to settle, inside the settled flames was the serene Spirit of Emily Bennett; "It took you long enough."


	14. That was dramatic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for Nova's fashion and face claim and a lot of other stuff, go to my Polyvore, it's a collection, I update it every time I update the story; I'll try to put the link in the story, but if I don't, go to; randomfashionsxoxo.

In a small town named Mystic Falls, it was currently midnight, just after Halloween, and anyone who was Supernatural could feel the shift in the atmosphere as the clock struck midnight.

Two teenage sisters stood in a dense forest as the wind propelled autumn leaves around them.

In front of them stood a fiery circle, inside the ring of fire was a beautiful woman dressed in elegant late 18th-century clothing, she was someone who had left the realm of the living nearly two centuries ago, but stood before the twins when Bonnie's Magic ignited the summoning spell.

"It took you long enough," Emily remarked almost absently, as she took in her surroundings, the fire illuminating her features eerily.

Nova didn't say anything as she took in the Spirit that'd been haunting her sister; it was always fucking weird- meeting people who had been characters played by actors in her old life. She had once googled the actresses and actors names from the show, the names she could remember had the same occupations- but different roles and faces- it made sense, but was still fucking bizarre.

Bonnie muttered something under breath, nothing nice, considering the glare she granted their Ancestor.

Nova inched closer towards her twin to clasp their hands together, attempting to calm her; it seemed to work, somewhat, as Bonnie relaxed her tense shoulders and stopped glaring at a watchful Emily. "We summoned you-" Bonnie spoke up first, clearly gearing up for a speech that she's more than likely been holding in for hours.

"Because of your desire for me to stop... appearing in your dreams." Emily interrupted the younger Witch smoothly, her shrewd brown eyes softening at the sight of their united hands.

"If you know what we want already, why don't you... you know- stop?" Nova asked sharing a confused glance with her twin.

Nova's trying to be polite as she can because while she's never met Emily, they are related. Respect your Elder Witch and all.

Still, she doesn't like being confused, confusion is way too similar to being oblivious for her to like it, she likes knowing things and holding it over people, etcetera, etcetera.

"I apologize that my persistence distressed you so," Emily apologized to a now slightly mollified Bonnie.

Persistence is one way to put it, Nova thought to herself dryly as Emily wandered closer to them, only to be thwarted by the flaming barrier circle.

"It was dire that I speak with you. Both of you." Emily resumed speaking after a moment of staring curiously at the burning circle that wouldn't normally hold a Spirit but thankfully did.

The twins were just relieved it worked.

Though Emily was a Bennett Witch, that did not mean they trusted her; the simple reason for that small bit of distrust was that they didn't really know her, they knew her from old Journals, which regarded her as a loving mother and a fierce opponent. But people can change after spending so many years on the Other Side, forced to watch the world move on while you stayed still, unable to interact with anyone living.

"What is it that you needed so badly that you had to start haunting me to get it?" Bonnie questioned with a frown, satisfied by the apology, but still not willing to let go of the whole; 'my dead ancestor was haunting the shit out of me' thing.

"The vampire in the tomb is a danger to not only this town but a danger to you two, as well as your grandmother. So, I must ask, what are your plans?" Emily asked this question towards the eldest twin, causing the girl in question to scoff in disbelief.

"Let me get this straight; you haunted my sister, consistently- 'cause you were curious about my so-called plans?" Nova stated in incredulity, trying to control her temper, but failing. Bonnie hadn't been getting sleep because of Emily popping up in her dreams every night since Nova had found the damned talisman.

"You spirits must be super bored over there." The only thing that kept her from saying anything else- something more scathing- was Bonnie's nearly painful grip on her hand, their roles now reversed, with the younger twin trying to calm the elder.

"The deal you made with Damon Salvatore may help you now. But it could prove futile in the near future." Emily declared, choosing to ignore the mild hostility directed in her direction.

Emily's words would be cryptic as a crossword puzzle written in Old English if the twins didn't already know what she was referring to.

"We already know that Katherine isn't in the Tomb," Bonnie stated with a raised brow at the slightly stunned Spirit.

"Then why would you make a deal you knew you could never uphold?" Emily asked with a puzzled frown.

"I could ask you the same thing," Nova muttered dryly, shifting on her unfortunately blood-soaked boots.

Emily had made a deal with Damon to protect Katherine from burning in a church, and in exchange, he'd protect her lineage; but Katherine was never in the Tomb if Nova was remembering everything correctly.

"The person who was meant to do the headcount before I sealed the tomb was in league with Katherine. I did not know she had escaped her appropriate fate until I was long dead." Emily responded to the mutter, knocking the eldest twin out of her thoughts as her summoned Ancestor stepped further away from the flame, as though suddenly reliving something.

Bonnie and Nova shared a glance, both of them remembering that Emily had been burned at the stake because, Katherine- her so-called 'friend'- ratted her out to the then Town Council. Witches have almost always been burned for their 'crimes'; it never failed to make Nova furious when she thinks about it because most of the time the only crime they'd committed was being born a Witch and getting caught in the middle of Vampires affairs.

Humans wouldn't even catch Witches if not for other Supernatural creatures helping light the fucking match.

"I made a deal with Damon to get him in the tomb because we're going need his help, sooner or later," Nova finally responded to the question, trying to distract her Ancestor from thinking of her death.

She knows what it's like to die by fire and wouldn't wish it on anyone- other than her worst enemy, which she currently doesn't have, yet.

"And even if we didn't need him, we would still need to open the tomb," Nova started explaining her reasonings to both her sister and a thankfully now mentally present Ancestor, both of them now listening to her curiously. "Those hungry vampires? Yeah, they're just a ticking time bomb waiting to detonate- and I'd rather be the one to trigger it than wait for someone with fucked up intentions."

Nova didn't want to even think about what could happen if someone else besides them opened the Tomb.

Even though the Tomb was supposed to be super secret, a lot of people knew about it and most of those people are complete assholes who wouldn't mind seeing Mystic Falls human residents be feast upon for breakfast- and lunch.

"...I agree with my sister, we can't risk it." Bonnie declared in full agreement with her twin just as Emily abruptly swerved her head as though listening to something when they could only hear the wind rustling through the trees.

"I cannot disagree with words of wisdom. But I must go, the spell is waning," Emily told them as her voice got more indistinct, her body started fading along with her voice.

The twins backed away from the flames as it suddenly raised higher in the midnight air.

"There's one more thing you must know before I go," Emily declared as the flames gradually raised, the twins had to get reluctantly closer to hear anything said.

"A spell in my grimoire, the very last page, it contains a way for the vampires to depart peacefully without darkening your souls!" Emily had to resort to yelling, even then it was still barely heard as her body and words were practically swallowed by the high flames.

"May nature grant you many blessings on your adventures, my lovely descendants!" Emily shouted with a wicked smirk as she disappeared into the high flame.

Soon the flames dissipated until the ring of fire was all but ash and smoke, the fire contained only to the circle.

"...Welp, that was dramatic." Nova told her twin who nodded her head in agreement as they waited for the smoke to clear to advance into the circle again. They then poured the unusual mix that still rested in the wooden bowl down in a small hole they dug in the dirt.

The twins didn't want to chance someone finding it and using Witch's blood for any nefarious reason.

"Do you think she was telling the truth about..everything?" Bonnie asked as she grabbed the now bloody talisman from the empty bowl with a look of disgust on her features.

"I don't know... I want to think she was- if only because it seems like she cares about us not dying." Nova replied shrugged tiredly as they walked back to Bonnie's car which was parked in a place that seemed too far right about now.

"Well. I guess we can at least check if she was telling the truth about the spell." Bonnie spoke up after a long moment of them silently trekking through the dark forest that was only lit by their phones. Nova just nodded, in deep thought, but didn't say anything as they finally- after nearly getting lost- found where they'd parked and eventually got in the car and far away from the ominous woods.

Killing someone -Supernatural or otherwise- would put a stain on your conscience- if you had one- sanity, Soul, etc. But with Magic, it was so much more, it was diving in deep with darker shit, it was Dark Magic in it's truest form. Grams had once told them that some Witches never feel the same after killing someone with Magic- as though it was stripping away some sort of innocence that Witches didn't know they had until it was suddenly ripped from their very Souls.

She shivered at her thoughts and was suddenly grateful Emily had been thoughtful enough to save them from that kind of fate.

Nova knows she's going to have to eventually kill someone, for survival, to save someone important to her, she's not that naive to think she would ever survive this town without killing someone; she's just not sure she's ready to throw her last shred of innocence away just yet.

* * *

 Nova sighed heavily, closing her eyes as she leaned on her closed bedroom door, grateful she was finally alone for the first time in what felt like days. She loves her friends and doesn't regret being there for Elena these past few days, but even dying didn't take away her introverted ways of needing to recharge after being around people for so long.

"You look terrible. I could come back... if you want?"

Nova heart nearly went up through her fucking throat when she heard someone in her supposedly empty room, but she quickly calmed when she recognized the voice.

She cracked open one eye, glaring at the figure, before reluctantly opening both.

Nova stared blankly at Damon lounged on her bed with one her favorite books in his hand. Merlin, thankfully, seemed to have found his way back home and was napping peacefully on his side of the bed- because she's a sucker and let him have the other side of her bed.

"Why can't I just have one night alone. Just one fucking night?" Nova whined softly as she hit her head on the back of her door.

"You have a surprisingly good book collection for a teenage girl of this century. No Twilight at least. I'll have to finish this- later." Damon commented nonchalantly, ignoring her whining as he fucking bookmarked her book.

Nova's very possessive of her books- and phone, and laptop, and camera, and a lot of things, she has a list, it's long- and the only thing that kept her from snatching it from his hands was the fact she was too exhausted to do anything that'd actually work on him.

She'll just have to trust that Merlin wouldn't be so chill with a Vampire being in her room if he was here to kill her.

"What are you doing here? At... one?" Nova reluctantly asked as she walked into the room, moving towards her closet, she threw her Witch's hat towards her vanity chair, it missed, hitting the floor with a quiet plop. Whoops, she thought unenthusiastically, too sleepy to actually care.

"Actually it's two," Damon corrected her, watching her curiously, still in her bed for some reason unknown to her. "And I just thought you'd want to know that baby vamp is safely tucked away in the cellar until we figure out what to do with her."

Nova hummed in acknowledgment as she thought about it for a moment before thinking 'Fuck it' as she stripped down to her undies.

Damon's already seen her boobs and she stopped guarding her boobs so much when she realized she'd accidentally flashed at least half the town already. Nova blames her bad habit of indecent exposure thing on her friends- and vodka, can't forget vodka- both are bad influences on her, she muses in tired amusement as she dejectedly tossed her blood-soaked, dirt-stained boots in the trash can near her desk.

Now she knows how Buffy feels whenever she has to throw away adorable clothes when they get stained with blood.

Hint; it fucking sucks balls.

Nova turned back to her closet when she was done mourning the loss, only to do a double take as she found a Vampire all up in her personal space instead of her closet. She's probably never going to get used to the whole 'super speed' thing, she didn't even hear him move.

"Why do you have blood on your hands?" Damon inquired curiously, but instead of waiting for her to answer, he lifted her hands up so he could examine them.

She only had a little blood left under her fingernails, she'd cleaned most of the blood and the dirt off in the bathroom- he must have a better nose than a bloodhound to smell that lovely concoction. "Witch stuff," Nova answered vaguely, wiggling her fingers at him, he grudgingly let go of her hands back so she could reach into her closet for a random [tee](https://www.polyvore.com/sleep_wear/set?id=231972258) shirt.

"Want to elaborate on that?" He asked with a raised brow, watching her suspiciously as she pulled the shirt over her messy hair.

"Nope," Nova replied simply, smiling at his disgruntled face as she left him standing in front of her closet to sit at her vanity. "Was there anything else you needed?" She questioned him, becoming slightly annoyed when it became clear he was going to ignore her not so silent wish for him to leave. He always does, she thought as she glared at nothing in particular, using nearly half of her hand sanitizer to clean off the rest of the blood off her hands.

Damon's reflection was suddenly in the mirror beside her as he sat down next to her on the vanity bench. She ignored him in favor of starting the annoying process of removing her Halloween makeup.

"It's Stefan's birthday today," Damon announced randomly as the teen reached for her fourth makeup remover-soaked cotton ball before switching to makeup wipes.

"Uh...okay...and?" Nova asked as she wiped the rest of her black lipstick off, looking at the Vampire that was ironically in the reflection of her mirror.

"I need you to do me a favor,"

"No shit? I'd never guessed."

"I need you to throw him the best birthday party you can manage on such short notice." Damon talked over her sarcastic mutter, his request made her pause in removing her foundation.

"Okay...If I may ask," Nova said but didn't wait to see if he was actually fine with her asking before she inquired, "Why are we planning a birthday party for a brother you supposedly hate?"

"Vampire stuff," He snarked back with an annoyingly devious smirk in her direction. Okay, maybe she deserved that, just a little.

Besides, she already has a feeling about what he's planning, she'll just have to check her feeling later, much later, preferably after a couple hours of sleep.

"I'll do it. But it'll have to be at your house," Nova answered after a beat of quietness, finally done removing her makeup, she moved on to brushing her hair into a loose bun, too lazy to braid it.

"Fine," Damon answered with a small frown, probably disappointed he couldn't get her to tell him what'd she'd been doing.

"And I'll need some help and money," Nova continued casually as she ran one last makeup wipe over face before throwing all of the very dirty makeup wipes into her nearby trash. "Don't care. Just make sure it gets done... I wanna to make it a night he'll never forget." Damon asserted with a totally not suspicious devious smirk as he got up from her vanity seat.

"And the money?" Nova prodded 'innocently' as she could when he walked towards her window that she realizes has been open all this time. Weather in Mystic Falls was always just right, it rarely got too humid, almost never too cold- with the coldest it ever got all year round in the low forties, and it was currently probably in the fifties right about now.

Yeah, she was going to blame the distinct lack of cold autumn air blowing through her window rather than obliviousness.

Damon turned back towards her, eyeing her expression warily, but all the same, he begrudgingly pulled his wallet from his pocket and promptly threw her a credit card that she caught clumsily. "Don't go too wild, I'm gonna need that back." He warned with a grimace of regret as he stuffed his wallet back in his pocket, making his back over towards the window.

"Mhm, sure, no problem. Close the window on your way out." Nova responded back absently, staring at the credit card, she had the sudden urge to do a Gollum impression and hiss out; _'My precious'._ She squashed down the urge, mostly, but by the time she looked away from it, he was gone and her window was shut.

"Muahaha, sucka..." Nova grinned to herself as she stuffed the card under her pillow, finally collapsing on her bed next to Merlin.

Let it never be said that Nova would ever waste an opportunity to spend other people's money.

* * *

 Nova was currently hanging out in Grams' kitchen as the woman herself and Bonnie talked quietly over the stove where they all decided to cook a big Sunday breakfast to catch up over. Nova had already made the bacon and pancake batter, she had to leave the rest to them as she was busy planning a party.

"So he just gave you his credit card?" Caroline's voice sounded skeptical even through Nova's phone.

It was like she thought Nova stole it when the only thing she's ever stolen- read; 'borrowed'- was her own friend's clothes, and jewelry, and maybe a couple bottles of The Lockwood's alcohol and- Okay, she mused, thinking back on her apparent semi-klepto ways, so maybe her blonde friend's skeptical tone was warranted.

"Yeah. He said that he wants it to be- and I quote; a night Stefan will never forget. Then gave me his card and texted me his pin number this morning." Nova replied absently, texting with Bonnie's phone, holding her own phone between her ear and shoulder.

It was the same text sent over and over;

 _'B-day_ Prty _for new hot guy Boarding House, xoxo - Nova'_

The text was simple and people while no doubt would still be nursing Mystic Falls' famous Halloween Hangover; they would show if only for even more booze- because this town is just filled with 'picture perfect' families just looking to get drunk. Sadly, the text had to be copy and pasted, she could only send to four people at a time- since her twin's phone decided to be stupid and wouldn't let her select her whole contact list.

"Hmm... that doesn't sound super-villainy," Caroline commented sarcastically, making the other girl snort in amusement.

"Zero subtly," Nova agreed with a frown at Bonnie's phone that'd froze when she was sending another text.

Nova had checked her Journal to double check her hunch about what happened on Stefan's birthday. She had written very little details, but it got to the main point; Lexi Branson died by Damon Salvatore's hands in a plot to get the asshole of a Council's trust.

"What kind of balloons do you think Stefan would want?" Caroline asked changing the subject and latching onto planning the party.

"Uhh...I don't know, the color of Elena's eyes?" Nova replied hesitantly, genuinely confused as to what balloon colors has anything to with party planning.

"Haha. I'll just get red- and black," Caroline muttered before telling her the long list of things that they would need to get.

Nova hummed at the right moments, half-listening to her friend as she resumed texting the list of people the girls knew, inviting them to a party for a dude that probably doesn't even know them- considering the fact he only went back to high school to make love eyes at Elena- or the fact he's getting a birthday party.

Nova should probably get on that, since it is his birthday party, and she should also probably tell Elena that two of her best friends are throwing her ex-boyfriend a birthday party because his devious older brother is up to something and loves dragging Nova into his bullshit.

"Huh," Nova stated interrupting her friend's apparently nonending list of instructions of things needed for the party.

"What do you mean; huh? Do you know how big that Boardinghouse is? We are going to need a lot of streamers." Caroline said streamers so seriously it was like it was life or death. "...I've gotta go! I've got too many people to invite. I'll call you back when I'm ready to leave. Kay? Bye!" Nova spoke in a rush, hanging up on the blonde before she could get more than three words in.

Nova felt like she deserved a break, she'd been at this all morning and the thought of all the planning she still has to do was making her exhausted; she had to not only plan this party, but unravel Damon's devious plotting, and figure out a new idea to get the Council's scent off his back. She was suddenly regretting volunteering to plan anything that wasn't a slumber party, that was simple, all you needed was; a lot of snacks, music, booze and hot guys that are unattainable because they're fictional.

"You sound like you need this more than I do," Bonnie said as she wandered over, smiling in sympathy, she set a large green mug of coffee down on the kitchen table.

"Bless you, you beautiful human twin witch," Nova didn't even know what she was saying but she was grateful she finally had an excuse to stop texting before her thumbs fell off.

"How long have you been up?" Bonnie asked in amusement as she sat down next to her sister, watching in morbid fashion as she devoured her coffee.

"Uh, like seven hours?"

"Are you asking her or telling her?" Grams said in amusement as she set the finished food on the wooden table.

"Probably asking... Considering Bonnie can probably tell you by just looking at me how many hours I've slept." Nova responded with a smile in Grams' direction as she got up to help her with the plates.

"I'd say about... six hours. Plus the twenty minutes you got on the car ride here." Bonnie guessed with a grin, squinting playfully at her twin from her seat at the kitchen table.

"Sounds about right," Nova confirmed in mock sadness, sitting down next to her twin, they shared a smile before they started to dig in.

"You know when I gave you girls the go-ahead to freely practice witchcraft unsupervised," Grams spoke after they'd finished eating, the twins were thinking about grabbing seconds but paused at the tone the Elder Witch was currently using.

It was the very intimidating and recurring; 'I know what you did but I'm not going to let you know if I'm dryly amused or furious' tone.

"I thought you'd try to prank the school. Maybe even stupidly try one of our great-greats love potions," Grams ignored the amused looks the twins shared at the thought of them casting a love spell. Like they were that desperate, yet.

"But I did not think you two would help capture a vampire and summon our ancestor- and all in one night."

Yeah, they stopped smiling pretty quickly after that.

"Did you?"

"No, did you?"

"No!"

The twins turned back to Grams, both wondering how the Elder Witch knew what they'd done if neither of them said anything.

What if- and giant if- Grams is a mind-reader and they never knew; it would explain how Grams always knows where her socks disappear to or how she always knows what they want to eat or how- like right now- she always knows when they do stupid shit or-

"Stefan called last night. Thought I should know about the little...mishap with Vicki Donovan. I think he's trying to get on my good side." Grams told them, finally put them out of their misery, mildly entertained at their display.

"Oh, how'd you know about the...summoning?" Bonnie asked casually, the twins shared a quick glance again, clearly thinking the same thing as they looked back towards their amused Grams.

"I felt it as soon as I got home last night," Grams explained with a slightly suspicious look in their direction when the twins sighed in relief at the reasonable explanation.

"You two should be glad we're the only witches in town." Grams scolded them with a raised brow.

"Sorry," the twins apologized in unison, both still waiting for the questions that they know are coming.

Grams waved away their apology, getting up to get herself another cup of mint tea. "Did you at least make sure the door to the other side was closed before leaving?" Grams questioned as she sat back down, staring them down as she calmly stirred her tea.

"Uh...no.. but we made a ring of fire with blood, hair, and- sage." Nova was not covering up her mistakes with her ingenious way of making adaptions to spells, not at all.

"And we made sure not to leave anything behind," Bonnie added as the elder woman switched her gaze between the two of them.

"...I'll go check it out to make sure it's shut tight," Grams sighed in exasperation at their sheepish expressions.

"Sorry," they apologized, in unison, again, leaving both of them feeling more like idiot noobs as the moment went on.

"But, sweetie, why didn't you tell me you where being haunted by- Emily, am I right?" Grams asked her youngest grandchild just as her eldest got a call from her blonde best friend.

Saved by the fucking bell, technically a ringtone, but Nova was saved from the interrogation all the same.

"I've got to answer this or she won't stop calling. So, sorry." Nova apologized to her sister's pleading expression as she backed out of the kitchen to answer the phone call.

Nova was relieved to have gotten away from Grams scrutinizing gaze but felt guilty for abandoning her twin to it; especially since Caroline just called her to confirm Damon's credit card info.

"Forgive me?" Nova asked her twin as soon as Bonnie entered the room they spent most of their childhood in, holding out one of their old teddy bears in a peace offering.

"Forgiven," Bonnie replied with a quirk of a smile, taking the bear and sitting on her bed.

They still slept at Grams' every now and then but the room was still a relic of their childhood; with the 90's wallpaper, the twin beds that sat on opposite sides of the room were pushed up against said 90's wallpaper, rainbow beaded curtains covered the doorway, a small bookcase that was covered in stickers stood next to their shared desk and if Nova remembers correctly they still have a couple of boxes of old witchcraft stuff in their tiny shared closet.

"How's the party planning going?" Bonnie asked with curious eyes, her back resting on the wall and legs bent up to her chin, accidentally mirroring Nova's position.

"Ugh, fine- now that I have Caroline's help," Nova replied making a tortured grimace at the mention of the party planning, "I just have to hire minions for some heavy lifting- and by hire- I mean order."

"Poor Matt and Tyler," Bonnie stated with a chuckle, correctly assumed the minions her twin was talking about. "They really had no idea they were going to be ordered around for so many years when they decided to play with the four of us on the playground, did they?"

"Nope," Nova answered in glee as she got up from the bed, heading to the closet to look for something in particular.

Caroline had come to pick her up when Nova finally found what she'd been looking for all morning. Grams would be showing Bonnie how to ensure the door to the Other Side was closed and then they'd check Emily's Grimoire for the supposed mystery spell.

The 'party-planning-duo' spent the rest of the morning picking up the stuff they'd ordered in advance online, they chatted about their nights; Caroline had apparently woken up in the middle of the night for a snack when her mother caught her in the kitchen and they'd had a nasty argument about the teenager's drinking habits. Nova let her blonde friend vent before she told her about her own night.

The blonde was more than a little miffed that the twins hadn't invited her to their little summoning but had understood she would have been way too drunk to be of any help.

When they'd finally finished picking up almost everything needed for the party, they walked to the bakery, where the blonde was currently buying the cake. Nova waited outside so she could call the last two people on her list.

 _"Hello?"_ A very sleepy decidedly not male voice answered- she doubled checked to make sure she called the right number, yup- Tyler's phone; at least one of them is getting laid, she thought dryly.

"Could you put Tyler on for me?" Nova asked the girl, sending a flirty grin to a passing girl who was no doubt doing a walk-of-shame considering she was still in her sexy cop costume, the girl flushed but returned the smile all the same.

_"Kay...hold on-"_

Nova bit her lip as her traitorous eyes followed the passing girl, but she eventually snapped her eyes forward when a car passed by.

 _"Nova? Why are you calling me so early?"_ Tyler's voice sounded like it went through a paper shredder- and then was run over- by his own truck.

"It's twelve pm!" Nova replied brightly, leaning on the bakery's brick wall.

 _"You sound way too fucking chipper for someone who should be nursing a Halloween hangover..." T_ yler groaned, possibly sensing the danger that's coming his way.

"That's because I don't have a hangover. So wake up, sweetcheeks, I'm going to need your help," Nova told him rather than asked, twisting her head into the bakery window to check on Caroline; the blonde was carefully choosing a cake and clearly kept changing her mind, no doubt annoying the baker behind the counter.

_"What-"_

"I need you to bring a lot of booze and your better blonder half to the Boarding House in...thirty minutes."

_"Why-"_

"It's Stefan birthday and his older brother put me in charge of planning his birthday party because I'm the only one who tolerates his bullshit," Nova explained whilst looking down at her new red boots in adoration, she continued speaking before he could even get a word in; "The jackass couldn't give me a two-day warning before he asked- So.. Be there or risk the feel of my Bennett wrath." Nova declared in faux cheer, hanging up when she was pretty confident he'd help even though all she got was a grunt in reply.

And if he somehow didn't get the message she'd already sent Matt over to kick his ass out of bed. Of course, she had to bribe him with homemade cookies for a week for helping set up his ex-girlfriend's ex-boyfriend's birthday party.

This town was so extra, she thought dryly as she checked another item off her imaginary list, she looked away from her phone when she heard the hanging doorbell of the bakery ring. "Have you called Elena yet?" Caroline asked, hangover sunglasses on as she walked out the bakery with a giant cake in her hands, purse hanging from her elbow.

"About to right now, sent for the minions first," Nova replied sharing a small grin with the blonde, as they walked to the blonde's car, she held her phone to her ear while opening the car door for her friend.

"Hey, Nova, is everything okay?" Elena sounded like she was just waiting for someone to tell her the bad news of the day.

"Yes...everything fine. But I have something to tell you... "

 

* * *

Elena had taken the news surprisingly well, though, considering she had spent her morning in a police station, lying to the police about everything with Vicki, it was probably the least troubling news she'd had all week. Neither the twins nor Caroline had to go because as far as anyone else was concerned- they weren't there the last time Matt had seen his sister. Elena did have concerns as to what Damon was up to and- probably for curiosity sake because tonight is sure to be a trainwreck- accepted the invitation to the party.

Caroline and Nova soon had to let themselves in when no one had answered the door by the third ring, they'd been getting weighed down by all of the bags in their hand and way too impatient to be polite and wait for someone to open a door already unlocked. Nova settled in the living room, sorting the decorations out on one of many the couches while Caroline was in the kitchen, trying to find candles for the cake, they decided to just add a random amount so they won't start a house fire trying to add the correct number.

Nova was going to call Stefan about his 'surprise' birthday party- but she'd received a text from Damon an hour ago, telling her that he'd told him.

She'd bet everything in her wallet -hint; Damon's credit card- that he'd been an asshole about it and made it sound more taunting than inviting.

"...Who are you and what are you doing in here?"

Nova turned towards the voice, her sarcastic answer died quite tragically on her tongue when she turned to see a very beautiful woman standing in the archway, dripping wet, and only wearing a towel.

"Uh..." Nova usually had better social skills than this, it was like her brain decided to do a very inconvenient update when her hormones kicked up a notch for the first time in a week.

Lexi Branson raised an eyebrow at the teenager, lowering her guard when she saw how young the 'intruder' was.

"I'm going to put some clothes on while you explain what the hell you and your friend are doing in my best friend's house," Lexi stated with a bemused smile, she started walking back towards the staircase.

Nova silently followed the Vampire up the stairs and into a guest bedroom, mostly recovering from her sudden bout of stupidity.

"So...are you the mysterious new love of Stefan's life - Elena was it?" Lexi questioned her, voice muffled while she roamed into the walk-in closet.

"Ha, no. I'm her best friend who got roped into helping plan Stefan's birthday by his older less sane brother." Nova answered as she finally recovered now that she didn't have a naked, older, incredibly attractive, and emotional stable female standing in front of her.

Finding both attractive and emotionally stable people in this cursed town was basically a once and a blue moon type of thing.

"Why would Damon ask you - I mean no offense but that seems a little unconventional considering they broke up..." Lexi questioned with a bewildered frown as she walked back into the room, sitting down on the bed to lace up her black boots.

Honestly, the leather pants didn't help calm her hormones, but she was emotionally mature enough that she wouldn't stare at the Vampire like a creep just because she was beautiful. "Damon and I are friends, sort of..."

"Damon has friends?" Lexi asked in disbelief, probably wondering how he hasn't killed her yet, considering all of his friend's die by his hand- at least once.

"Not really. We just reluctantly enjoy each other's company." Nova responded honestly, playing nervously with the items burning a hole in the pocket of her red leather jacket.

"Look. You seem like a nice girl and he may seem charming with his 'bad boy charm' but he likes using people, hurting them. Just- be careful with him, alright?" Lexi warned her with a worried glance in her direction as she dried her hair with a towel, sounding genuinely concerned about her wellbeing.

Lexi had known her for all of ten minutes yet was out to protect her from the big bad older brother- not that she needed protection- the elder Vampire was kind in a way that humans rarely are, let alone Vampires.

Nova rarely finds people she genuinely wants to spend time with, but she thinks she just found another one.

"Because he's a vampire?" Nova said with a smile in the direction of shocked the elder Vampire. She could never resist being a mysterious and spontaneous little shit.

"How, uh, how do you know that?" Lexi questioned with a curious look in her eye as she reassessed the teenager in front of her.

"Sorry, I never introduced myself; my name is Nova Bennett."


	15. Taking candy from a Jack Ass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nova loves her new red boots, Lexi, vodka, - oh, and Magic.

Once she introduced herself properly, Lexi had recognized the last name immediately; not surprising since the Bennett family was a big name in the Supernatural community, they were a powerful line of Witches, that always found themselves involved in big Supernatural events.

Also, it seems that Lexi had briefly met some of her family members a few decades ago.

"Sisters. You could just tell by looking at them that they were powerful. They were charming, but kind of reclusive- I didn't stay in town long enough to really get to know them." Lexi explained, applying her makeup as the Teenage Witch listened on curiously.

Nova was always interested in her history, seeing as back in her old universe, the Bennett's were famous amongst the Supernatural, yet at the same time information about them was vague.

When Lexi finished getting ready, the grilling commenced, Lexi wanted to know more about the girl who managed to have a Witch as a best friend and a Vampire for a boyfriend/ex-boyfriend. Lexi was such a free spirit and had a good sense of humor that it barely took ten minutes in conversation before they just clicked - like they'd been friends for years instead of just getting to know each other.

They were laughing as they set up decorations, sharing equally embarrassing stories about their best friends- apparently, Stefan and Nova do have something in common, they've both skinny dipped in a fountain- when Stefan walked down the staircase, he looked around in confusion at the decorations, pausing when he saw them.

"Stefan! Happy birthday! What are you now? Like a zillion years old?" Nova joked as she arranged the red 'happy birthday' banner on top of the living room entryway. Lexi held onto the ladder Nova stood on with a casually strong grip so the teen wouldn't fall to her death because - ouch.

"As of today, he's one hundred and sixty-two years old," Lexi answered for him, flashing her best friend a 100-watt smile at his groan.

"Nova, hi, uh, thanks," Stefan replied, smiling halfheartedly up at the teenager, clearly not up to celebrating his birthday, he proved her correct when he continued, protesting, "You guys- really don't have to do all of this. I don't know if I feel comfortable going to a party planned by Damon."

"It's your birthday, Stefan. We're going to celebrate it - in style. No matter what evil scheme your brother has concocted." Lexi replied swiftly to his protests, more than likely used to them after a century.

"Yeah, I've been awake since seven trying to organize your birthday party, not Damon," Nova replied in exasperation, throwing a scowl down at the birthday boy.

"Plus... I've already invited half the town to this party so it's too late to cancel." Nova commented nonchalantly, tying the banner on the nail she'd carefully placed above the tall wooden square archway.

"Well, it looks great. But I am sorry Damon roped you into this after everything that happened last night." Stefan apologized, being a gentleman and helping the teen down the ladder and everything.

"That - right there needs to stop," Lexi interjected with a frown, she took the younger Vampires shoulders and gave him a hard enough shake that it had him wincing, "You've got to stop apologizing for your brother being an asshole, it's - not - healthy."

"What she said," Nova agreed, watching the pair in amusement before turning towards a still grimacing Stefan, she prodded him in the shoulder to get his attention.

"I don't mind planning this thing - much - someone has to make sure you actually have a genuine birthday party. Damon's only paying for it, which... bonus for me, I got to spend the assholes money on new boots." Nova replied with a smirk, showing off her new red platform boots. Lexi laughed in surprise, and impressed by her gall, she high-fived her.

"Still, you could have died last night," Stefan gently reminded the teen, catching Lexi off guard for a moment as she started folding the ladder they'd found in the garage.

"That's just life, Stefan. You never know whether you're going to get die in a tragic fire or by a vengeful newborn vampire." Nova responded with a shrug, she grabbed the last bag of party decorations. Sadly the last thing that was left was the nonhelium balloons, she could already feel her lungs slowly dying.

"Nova...where the hell are you? They don't have candles, we need candles!" The doorbell rang just as a frantic Caroline's voice sounded throughout the house from the kitchen.

"Still. I never did say thank you for helping us with Vicki. So, thank you." Stefan thanked her with a small smile, patting her on the shoulder on his way to the door.

The apologies and thanks weren't really needed- since she was going to try to save Vicki either way and she didn't do it for them, but for Matt- but it was appreciated all the same. Salvatore's, born lady killers, she thought in amusement at her unintentionally ironic joke.

Caroline rushed into the room with a panicked look on her face as she rushed towards Nova only to swiftly turn her head towards Lexi.

"I love your jacket and your shoes, wow your pretty - who are you again?" Caroline spoke all in one breathe to the now amused Vampire.

* * *

 

Nova had brought her laptop and her old Polaroid camera with her, and with the help of Lexi and Stefan, they made a music playlist on her laptop while the boys were bossed around by a determined Caroline for another thirty minutes to make sure nothing priceless was left out for drunk teenagers to break.

Nova kindly decided to ignore the accusing glares sent her way every few minutes by a still hungover Tyler; it was either ignore the glares or send slightly cruel smirks in his direction- and she's not that mean, today at least.

They'd finished pretty much everything by seven, but of course, everyone would be arriving at least twenty minutes late just so they wouldn't be the first person to arrive.

All of them were currently lounging around, music played on Nova's laptop - it was louder with the help of Tyler's big speaker boosters- and they all watched with barely contained amusement as Tyler tried to charm himself into Lexi's leather pants. It wasn't working at all, especially considering about twenty minutes in a conversation with anyone Lexi started talking about her boyfriend.

The door abruptly opened and when the oldest Salvatore stepped into the now decorated house, both Stefan's and Lexi's smiles dropped like they just got spiked with vervain. And then when the doorbell rang and Damon opened the door to reveal Elena staring amusedly at an excited Bonnie- it got a hell of a lot awkward for the rest of them as Lexi came closer to the door stare at the doppelganger of Katherine Pierce in silent shock.

If Nova listened closely enough she would most likely hear crickets in the background instead of _Goo Goo Dolls' 'Iris_ '.

"Well, if it isn't Elena and Bonnie- don't you two look absolutely appetizing," Damon greeted with a smirk at the now uncomfortable duo standing in the doorway.

Nova rolled her eyes and prayed to every deity known as she got up from her spot on the living room entryway small staircase to help them get away from the leering Vampire; while she did that Lexi was all forced smiles as she pushed an unwilling Stefan into the hallway and into a random door.

"Move it, Cassanova," Nova said dryly, hip-checking the Vampire out of her way of gently pulling her twin and best friend into the house. Damon obligingly moved out of their way- because despite her having hips on her, there was no way in hell did they manage to move a Vampire. Though the thought was more than a little amusing.

"I've got to talk to you later...about the book I just read. You'll love it." Bonnie stated to her twin with a radiant smile, giving her twin a hug.

She thoughtfully changed her words when she caught the Vampire staring at them with blatant interest. It took an embarrassing amount of almost ten seconds for Nova to get the hidden message her twin sent her; Grams and Bonnie had found the spell that should deal with the Tomb Vampires.

"Okay, can't wait to read it. The rest of the gang are in the living room," Nova replied, sharing a grin with her twin, she nodded her head to the archway as her twin took in the place with curious eyes.

"So... who was that girl?" Elena questioned, after giving the Teenage Witch a hug. "The one who dragged Stefan away as soon as she saw me?" Elena prodded when her friend just stared at her in confusion.

"Oh, that's Lexi, she's Stefan's best friend," Nova clarified, watching her friend in mild amusement.

"She's pretty."

Nova hummed in agreement, amused at the jealousy in her friend's tone, but she frowned when Elena continued to stare in the direction Lexi pulled Stefan towards.

"Hey," Nova whispered as she got her friend's attention with a light shoulder bump, she turned back towards her with a distracted 'hum'.

"They're just really _old_ friends," Nova made sure the put an emphasis on the word 'old', she watched as Elena's eyes lit up in recognition, "You have nothing to worry about. Stefan didn't even last ten minutes in a conversation with me before he asked how you were." Nova told honestly, attempting to comfort the broken-hearted teen.

"Oh," Elena exhaled softly, but it wasn't one of relief, if Nova could name it, she would reluctantly use the word; longing.

Elena soon left to go join the rest of their friends in the living room, but unfortunately, Nova was soon practically tied to the front door as the guest slowly trickled until the party was finally in full swing.

Let the chaos begin, she thought dryly as she let the last person inside.

* * *

 

Apparently, while Nova was greeting guests for almost an hour, the boys had started playing poker. The rich assholes betting with dollar bills and the other more reasonable assholes betting with leftover Halloween candy they'd found in the cabinets. Nova and Bonnie had gone in the kitchen for more snacks for the snack tables in the living room - orders from Caroline. They'd been watching the game in idle interest for a few minutes now, idle because it wasn't that exciting, they all kind of sucked.

"You ladies wanna join?" Asked one of the Jocks - Nova never bothered learning his name because he was an even bigger dick than Tyler on a full moon; she just calls him Jack Ass whenever he was unfortunately brought up. The way he was looking at them made her happy he didn't have x-ray vision. Matt, being the loyal friend he was, sent Jack a warning look, that was ignored.

Despite being fraternal twins, whenever they did tell assholes that they were twins, they'd get this lewd look in their eyes - like they'd had a threesome with them; Jack was currently sporting said look. Cue shudder and projectile vomit.

"Sure, it's kind of like Uno, right?" Nova agreed on a whim, playing dumb, she forced a sheepish smile on her face when her question earned her a few laughs.

"Sure, _Uno_. I promise to be gentle." Jack added suggestively, giving the twins another once over after he got finished laughing with his buddies, her own friends watched on in confusion.

Nova had the sudden urge to punch Jack in his stupid face- he was mildly attractive if you like douchebags and could ignore the heavy stench of cologne- but she refrained, letting Bonnie pull her back slightly as Jack Ass went back to finishing the current round.

"What are you up to? Uno? Really, Nov? You love poker, you're really good at it." Bonnie whispered to her sister as soon as they were far enough away from the table of testosterone. "Mhm, but he doesn't know that," Nova explained with a mischievous grin, she explained to an amused Bonnie;

"I was just remembering what Jack Ass did to Caroline and Elena."

Elena had a tragic last year in middle school, she had to get braces, she'd been fine, everyone had to eventually get them and no one had made fun of her, except, of course, for Jack Ass - who then after an entire year of picking on her, tried to get in her pants a year later.

Then there was that incident were Caroline had lost her virginity to one of Jack's more attractive buddies, the whole school found out the next day no doubt because of loud mouth Jocks that like talking shit in the locker room. Jack decided to make a show of slut-shaming the blonde in front of everybody. Caroline had held her head up high and tore him a new one, her cutting words spoken that day are one of the reasons people don't fuck with her, that and her hurricane personality. But later, the girls had found the blonde in the girl's restroom, sobbing in an empty stall.

The girls had gotten their revenge by spreading nasty rumors, some true, some not, till this day no one knows who started the rumors, wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

But, Nova thinks it couldn't hurt to get more when provided a chance to take Jack Ass' money.

"I hope he cries after you take all his money," Bonnie declared after her eyes lit in recognition, thoughts in sync with her twins.

"I'll do my best," Nova replied amusedly as she walked towards the table to join when she was waved over by Jack Ass.

Nova wasn't originally going to cheat, but then Jack Ass - the idiot - decided to let her try shuffling the deck. Not one to waste an opportunity, she deliberately fumbled with the cards, and when she picked up the cards individually, she used her Magic to levitate a random card into her jacket sleeve, smiling in faux embarrassment all the while.

Matt and Tyler, being the smart people they occasionally are, opted out of playing the next round and grabbed a few beers and sat back to watch the show with Bonnie, they didn't know everything that happened with Jack Ass but they knew that he did something to upset girls, which made them avoid him like he caught the plague.

Nova purposely lost a few rounds, folded some, but soon she grew bored of playing - and playing dumb and started actually winning some rounds.

"You said this was your first time playing?" Jack asked, suspicious when she won three times in a row.

Technically she asked if it was like Uno but - would you look at that- Jack Ass wasn't a total Dumb Ass, she mused in amusement as she counted forty bucks, two bags of Skittles, four Snickers and an appetizing amount of Twizzlers. "Beginners luck," Nova dismissed with a smile that was all teeth, she then promptly ignored the wary looks she got when she put on her best poker face, which was according to her sister, the same as her Vision face; a wide-eyed blank stare.

Next round, she waited for the cards on the table to be revealed by the dealer before she slowly started raising until it was all in, everyone but Jack Ass folded, too cocky too quit. They shared a stare down, her blank stare was getting to him, she could tell, she used that distraction to quickly switch the shit card with the card in her sleeve.

"Oh, would you look at that, bitches, four of a kind," Nova smiled as she flaunted her better hand, she threw the cards in Jack's direction.

"Thanks for the cash, Jack," Nova said faux sweetly, dismissing his protest she grabbed all the cash and candy off the table and into her tote bag; like taking candy from a Jack Ass - because only Demons are evil enough to steal from a baby.

"You know his name is actually Chris Fell, right?" Tyler asked with a grin when she joined them by the kitchen archway.

"Don't be stupid, Tyler. His name is Jack Ass."

* * *

 

Twenty minutes later, Lexi and Nova were standing in the most private corner the teenager could manage to find in all of the chaos of the party, they talked quietly over the now loud music and chatter of the guests. "So... I noticed you don't have any lapis lazuli jewelry," Nova brought the subject she'd been waiting all fucking night to bring up.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, lost mine ages ago." Lexi explained with a wistful look on her face, lowering her voice when a teenager ran past them.

Nova was curious and wanted to ask a lot of question like; how did she lose it- she knows that it was most likely taken instead of lost because Vampires almost never willingly take off their only source of freedom from the constant night they'd be forced to without one. Also, there's the little question as to why didn't she didn't ask her friend-who-is-a-Witch to spell another one for her. She didn't ask the questions that were racing through her mind, she just wordlessly pulled two [lapis ](https://www.polyvore.com/stefans_birthday_bash/set?id=232072487)lazuli rings out of her jacket pocket.

Nova had made them years ago when the twins had just started dealing with the gems, stones and crystals part of witchcraft; one was a simple thin sterling silver band with an inlay of lapis, the other one was an antique silver with a very large lapis in the middle. She'd only spelled it earlier this morning, ironically before she even met Lexi.

"What if I said I was willing to give you not just one, but two daylight rings?" Nova offered as she held out the rings on the palms of her hands, watching Lexi's astonished face in amusement. Nova was starting a real bad habit of surprising people- and she's fucking loving every second of it.

"Wow... okay, so, what's the catch?" Lexi asked with skeptical eyes after she finally tore her eyes away from the rings.

Kind but not stupid, she mused as she put the rings back in her pocket. "Not really a catch- it'd be more of an equal exchange," Nova responded vaguely and then started explaining everything that happened on Halloween.

Surprisingly, it didn't even take Nova pulling out her secret weapon - she has really awesome puppy dog eyes - for Lexi to accept the 'transaction'; Vicki goes out of town with Lexi to learn the ways of a functional Vampire, and in return - Nova would give her the daylight rings for her and her boyfriend. Nova had taking an immediate liking to Lexi and would have given her the rings even if she'd declined to take Vicki - because if any Vampire deserved not to get a literally killer sunburn, it was her. Of course, she didn't say anything as cheesy as that; wouldn't want to ruin her reputation of being a manipulative bitch, the horror.

A deliriously happy Lexi dragged Stefan off to the 'dance floor' - they'd just pulled back the couches a bit, folded the rugs and placed a lot of nonhelium balloons on the wood floor- when Bon Jovi's 'Wanted Dead Or Alive' began to play.

Nova chatted with her twin and friends for a long time because they supposedly get separation anxiety when apart for longer than an hour and, sadly, she wasn't sure if she was joking when she told them that.

When asked, Elena told them with a bewildered tone that in his own words; Jeremy was too busy to come tonight as he was- no shit - studying. Elena then had to explain everything that happened after the twins dropped her and Jeremy home because no way in hell would moody Jeremy ever study of his own free will. The girls had gotten a shock when she learned that Elena would ever let Damon of all Vampires compel Jeremy, but they all, eventually, let it go when Elena had explained;

"I don't want him to deal with all of this - he almost died and then broke down when he thought he watched someone he loved die. I just want him to actually live again."

It was a valid reason, not a wise decision with all the ways it could and would backfire, but it was done out of love and concern for a spiraling teenager.

They shared a long group hug before going separate ways when the birthday boy finally found his way over to his ex-girlfriend.

Nova had been dragged onto the dance floor by Lexi when Stefan abandoned her to smooth talk his way into Elena's pants for super Vampire sex, Lexi's words not hers.

"I just wanted to say thank you for doing this, it means a lot, you have no idea," Lexi yelled over the sound of the song 'Ain't No Rest For The Wicked', they danced purposely offbeat, earning themselves odd looks when the rest of them were practically humping each other. "I've been dreaming about the feel of sunlight on my skin for centuries."

"And now you get to finally get to fulfill that dream."

Lexi beamed at her as they continued to dance, they danced for an hour straight, but soon, Nova's human needs had her stumbling over to the snack table for a break, her throat beyond dry. She was downing her fifth cup of tequila cranberry cocktail - she'd lost count on how many drinks she's had altogether- when an irate Damon found her.

He didn't even bother saying anything, just picked her up by the hips and threw her over his shoulder. Nova, too drunk to even protest, just giggled and grabbed the bag of tortillas off the snack table on the way out the room. When she tried raising her head, she caught a glimpse of someone who looked vaguely familiar and waved. But she couldn't remember where she'd seen them before, couldn't even really see them because she's hanging upside down - and she's had way too many cocktails and they'd been wearing an ugly fucking hoodie, and it was so dark, why was it suddenly so fucking dark -

Nova's thoughts were cut off when Damon finally let her down, she bounced on something, it was fluffy, like a cloud; "Fluffy cloud," Nova whispered into the fluffy cloud, only to squint painfully when the Vampire turned the light on, revealing a bed, not a cloud.

It wasn't a cloud, it lied to her, she thought, annoyed she started pouting as she glared at the bed that felt like a cloud but wasn't one. She'd always wanted to live in the clouds, it was where Grams always said her head was at, she wants to go were her head is, and why -

"Bennett!" Damon finally got her attention after the fourth call, she turned her head towards him curiously and watched in confusion as he tapped his ear repeatedly.

"Why do you keep doing that?" Nova asked with a worried frown as he kept tapping his ear. Maybe he had really bad ear wax, she mused, giggling at the thought.

Damon rolled his eyes in exasperation, sighing as he pulled his phone from his leather jacket, he typed something in quickly, but Nova got bored of waiting for him and soon laid back down. Damon promptly shoved the phone in her face while she was munching on the tortilla chips. There was a simple unsent text;

_'Got a spell so my brother and his BFF can't hear us?'_

"Oh...why didn't you just say so?" Nova asked in disbelief, rolling her eyes at the silly Vampire.

She sat up on the bed, leaning on the headboard for balance. Oblivious to the glare she was receiving from Damon, Nova ran through the list of spells she had remembered by heart and started wiggling her fingers, closing her eyes as she tried to remember.

"That it?" Damon questioned in disbelief only to get hushed by a very drunk teenager.

"Shhh. I've just got to...remember the spell." Nova explained, opening both eyes as she thought really hard; it was a really new spell, Grams made it so she wouldn't have to burn sage everytime she wanted to speak to them privately, which was a lot.

"What you do you mean you've got to fucking remember the spell?"

Nova ignored the harsh whisper, just closed her eyes again and waved her hand around the room in a totally cool but unnecessary flourish as she chanted;

 _"Implorare secretum silentium."_ There was a sliver of magic in the air as the spell was cast over the entire room.

"Ugh! I fucking love magic, don't you?" Nova announced giddily to the impatient Vampire, she delighted in doing even the smallest bit of Magic.

"It's nice, has its benefits on rare occasions. You sure do love it," Damon stated as he came closer, seizing her arms when she almost fell off the bed trying to pull her boots off.

"Nice boots," Damon commented with a pointed glare.

"Yeah, you paying for them made them even nicer," Nova answered with a smile, tapping his nose when he continued to glare, he gently slapped her fingers away from doing the same thing twice.

"Did you bring me in here to lure me in your bed and glare at me... if so _kinky_ \- or did you actually want to tell me something?" Nova asked with a confused frown when he didn't say anything.

Maybe the glaring was a secret kink, but Nova - no matter how horny and drunk - was not an idiot and was not going to get in the middle of the fuckfest that is the Mystic Falls triangles and sometimes even squares or five-pointed star-

"You offered Lexi a daylight ring, two in fact, why?" He finally asked with his super intense eyes, keeping a firm hold of her arms, which she was secretly grateful about because she had zero balance right now.

Nova should have known that he was going to find out. She just wished he'd found out when she was sober because she's too fucking drunk right now to have this conversation, she was an emotional drunk, either she was super happy or super sad, something it was even both.

"Because we have a noob vampire in your cellar and you and your brother suck at teaching her anything useful," Nova explained seriously as she could when she was this drunk, she then started giggling into Damon's shoulder at her joke.

"Get it _suck_ -"

"Yeah, I got it," Damon cut her off with a roll of his eyes, leaving her there to fall face first on the side of the bed when he'd had enough of her giggling.

"How is that you always manage to foil every single one of my plans, _dammit_."

Nova's pretty sure she wasn't supposed to hear that, but she did anyway because she's always had a sensitive hearing when she's not zoning out.

"You can't kill her, Damon," Nova spoke as she hung upside down from the end of the bed, playing with her long ombre hair.

"And who am I not killing?" Damon turned back towards her with a raised brow, playing dumb, which was stupid.

"Lexi, you can't kill her. I love her, she's awesome sauce. You wouldn't want risk making nature mad at you for fucking up our deal, would you?" Nova responded in a _'duh'_ manner, still a little manipulative even when she was drunk. "You just met her," Damon replied in skepticism, dismissing her claims with an irritated glare in her direction.

"Love at first sight," Nova shot back, shrugging off his glares as she finally sat up, grimacing at the head rush.

This conversation was boring, why couldn't everyone just do everything she said and believe her when she said important shit - that sounded a little controlling even in her head, she mused with a frown.

"And what the hell am I supposed to do about the Council that's on my trail? When I am this close to getting what I want," Damon asked with a pointed glare, he rolled his eyes when she didn't have anything helping to say.

"Lexi's death won't be in vain, she dies - I live another day of my undead life, win, win. You and Stef can cry over it later," Damon declared callously, moving towards the door to leave. Nova tripped over her feet as she tried to stop him from leaving the room, the only reason she succeeded, was because he paused reluctantly when she'd tripped over her own two feet.

Fuck, too much vodka - and tequila, she thought, holding a palm up to her head as she fought off another headrush.

"Just - give me a moment, I can think of something, just hold on." She started pleading with her hands on his shoulders, knowing he could push her out the way if he wanted to but not caring at the moment.

Lexi was so much more important than just because Nova thought she was amazing, it wasn't even about getting Vicki help; all she can think about is the risk Ripper Stefan could pose to all of them, the _'plot'_ so far has been inconsistent. Ripper Stefan could decide her loved ones looked delicious, he could fall off the wagon sooner than the _'show'_ suggested - and the only one who's ever been successful of talking Stefan out of his bloodaholic ways was Lexi fucking Branson.

Besides that fuck-show, there was only so much Nova's Magic could do without killing her, meaning she needed allies, not just against The Originals, but against everything she doesn't really remember- or even know about. What she did know was that there was a shit storm heading their way and she had to prepare for it the only way she knew how besides expanding her knowledge of witchcraft, plotting.

"You have one minute," Damon stated impatiently, staring at her while she went through options.

"What are they specifically looking for?" Nova questioned as she tried to focus her thoughts, slowly sobering up as she went through her options a third time.

"Vampires," He answered sarcastically, only adding more when he saw her _'no shit'_ expression, "Sheriff Forbes is considering that vampires might be walking in daylight."

Shit.

"And they'd be right," Nova returned hollowly as she mentally threw away almost all of her options.

"Mhm. And she's looking into every new person in town. I cannot be on that list, Nova. I'm not done with this cursed town just yet." Damon bit out, silently telling her to hurry up, which she did; from what she can gather from her rather sketchy memories of the show and from what Damon's told her, mostly everyone on the Council would be gullible enough to be relieved to get any sort of evidence of a dead Vampire.

"Do you know that old bed and breakfast, 'bout an hour away from here," Nova asked, seemingly randomly, biting her lip as soon as she said the words.

"Yeah, sure. What the hell does that ha-"

"People new to the town started staying there when your 'uncle' closed this place down last year. Pretty big home, Lockwood property, an old lady runs the place for the Lockwoods," Nova talked over him, trying not to show how freaked she was about what she was suggesting.

"How long does it take to turn someone into a vampire?"

* * *

 

When they came back down to the still raging party, Damon was wearing his patented taunting smirk of his as he passed a glaring Lexi. He made a passing remark towards his suspicious brother before he left the house- whether he'd do what she'd suggested or do what he'd originally planned to do was up for debate, she supposed she'd find out soon enough.

"You okay? I can go down there by myself if you want? Get a feel for what's going through her mind right now." Lexi suggested as they walked towards the basement.

They'd just gotten finished cutting the cake and singing an off-key version of Happy Birthday to Stefan and after everyone had devoured the cake, Lexi had claimed she wanted to meet the person she'd be rehabilitating so to speak, so here they were.

"No, I'm fine," Nova lied with scary ease despite the skepticism that was shown on Lexi's face. "I'll go down first, explain everything in hopes she won't be a raging bitch to you." Nova didn't wait for a response as she went down the stairs, but she did pause on the stairs to take a moment, breathing in and out as she tried to calm her mind.

She just sent Damon to turn - _kill_ \- some poor idiot who decided to come to this fucked up town for a shit vacation. He'd have to turn someone and set loose the newly turned Vampire near the Boarding House - just so he could 'save the day' and make it look like they'd been the ones killing people left and right and not Damon. Mouse, trap.

The really fucked up part about this was that the solution was basically putting a band-aid on a bleeding wound; the Council would find out about their little 'Vampire infestation' sooner or later, she just pushed back the due date. Nova sucked in the cold air of the basement, clearing her mind, she started shoving the guilt down in a tiny corner in her brain as she finished walking down the rest of the steps.

"You aren't supposed to be down here..." Nova spoke up hesitantly, tensing for a fight when she saw someone in the basement near the cellar.

The unidentified person froze before slowly turning towards her, a large hoodie hiding their facial features. Nova was pretty sure she was having Pretty Little Liars flashbacks.

"Lexi!" Nova shouted as she raised her palms towards the intruder, still not completely sober, she was too slow and was rammed painfully towards the stone walls, biting her tongue on the way down to the harsh ground, the apparent Vampire rushed up the stairs, past a startled Lexi.

"Whoa! You okay down there?!"

"Fine! Could you go see who the fuck that was for me though?" Nova asked, breathing heavily as she carefully peeled herself from the floor.

No reply came, so she figured Lexi was chasing down the asswipe, she rubbed the back of her head, wincing when her fingers touched blood. Fucking asshole, she thought with a frown only to tense when the cellar door creaked open ominously, a pissed off and hungry Vicki stood in the doorway.

Oh, shit.

 

"Oh _shit_ ," Nova voiced her thoughts just as a hungry Vicki sped towards her with crimson hungry eyes, in less than a blink, she was held up by her throat in a choking grip.

"You smell so... good right now, and I'm so _hungry_ ," Vicki stated as she pulled the Teenage Witch closer, still clutching her neck in a painful grip.

Nova struggled to breathe, let alone think as her vision blacked in and out for a moment. But all the same, pure stubborn will to live had her raising her hands closer to Vicki's head as the Vampire moved her fangs closer to her neck. Just when Nova was sure she was going to die, she was suddenly dropped like a hot potato, her back hit the stone floor for the second time that night.

Nova gasped out painful breaths, her throat burned and unwilling tears rolled down her cheeks as she rolled over to see who had saved her - ugh, she was a damsel, she thought in distaste, at least her heroes were hot, her mind supplied unhelpfully.

"You good?" Lexi questioned, examining her as she helped the teen sit up as Stefan locked away Vicki - who was sporting a twisted neck.

"I think I'm gonna need another cocktail," Nova commented hoarsely as she held her hand up to her sore throat.

* * *

 

Lexi had fixed her another cocktail, as requested, she also - the sneaky little vixen - spiked the cocktail with her blood. Nova didn't think a nasty cut on the back of her head and sore throat was worth drinking Vampire blood for, but she finished the drink with a knowing look in Lexi's direction as her wounds slowly healed.

"Did you see who it was?" Stefan asked as everyone who knew about the Supernatural joined them in the kitchen.

Everyone had apparently started leaving because of a mysterious complaint to the police about the loud noise. Funny, considering the nearest house was long abandoned - in the 60's. It was more than likely a bullshit reason for the Council to get people out the way of Damon's - her plan; she's just glad she didn't have to see the plan in action, plausible deniability and all.

"Do you feel okay?" Elena asked her for the seventh time, and Nova nodded, for the seventh time.

"All I saw was the back of a cheap hoodie," Lexi answered her best friends question with a frustrated frown, she shoved the mess of balloons and candy wrappers off the counter to make herself a drink.

"How'd they even know you guys had a super creepy cellar in your basement anyway?" Caroline asked a very valid point as she leaned her head on Nova's shoulder, her twin's head on her other shoulder as the four best friends sat on the mess of a table.

Someone very desperate, she silently answered as she struggled to remember where she'd seen that asswipe with hoodie before. There was a moment of silence as they all pondered on the question, but soon Sheriff Forbes came in with a satisfied Damon in tow.

"Stefan, girls," Liz nodded in each of their direction before turning towards her tipsy daughter in disapproval, "Come on sweetheart, say goodbye to your friends, you've got school tomorrow."

Caroline hated being talked to like a child, especially in front of her friends, but she nodded anyway, too tired to argue; it was almost 3 am.

"Call me later, okay?" Caroline asked, and they nodded in agreement as the Forbes women left the kitchen.

Soon, they were all getting ready to leave, with Bonnie already in her car, talking to their father who apparently was back home and 'surprised' not to see them home. Because them not being home was a big deal.

"Will you be safe? You know - with her being in the back seat, restrained only by a seatbelt?" Elena asked as Lexi settled Vicki - who was still knocked out cold- in the back of her UV tinted car. The two most important women in Stefan's life had allegedly bonded over a lot of things, like love, Stefan's great hair, and Damon being an asshole. Damon had disappeared a while ago with one last suggestive comment towards Lexi, he wasn't too torn up - hint; not at all - about being separated from his 'Childe'.

"It'll be fine. I'm a lot stronger than I look." Lexi reassured the teen with a self-satisfied grin in Stefan's direction.

"She's stronger than she looks," Stefan agreed with an overplayed grimace as he more than likely reminisced over the times he's gotten beaten up by a woman shorter than him.

"Oh, right. Before I forget.." Nova said before handed the rings carelessly to Lexi, and unlike Nova, Lexi held them with care.

"Ugh. I could just kiss you right now." Lexi announced, sharing a grin with Stefan as she put on her daylight ring, admiring it.

"I wouldn't protest," Nova stated, sulking slightly when the taller woman only gave her a firm hug, but she returned the hug in equal vigor.

"I'll see you lovely people later," Lexi stated as she gave Stefan one last hug, whispering something into his ear, she slapped his arm, laughing mockingly at his false grimace. "Hey, Elena! Remember what I said okay? Everyone deserves a second chance." Lexi spoke with one last soft smile as she got into the car.

There was an awkward silence as she drove off, "I'm gonna go... to the car before this gets any more awkward," Nova announced, awkward when the not a couple but still in love duo kept sending each other _looks_ , she slowly walked towards her sister's car.

"Thanks for doing what you did for Lexi - and the party too," Stefan said with a grateful smile in her direction, finally tearing his eyes away from Elena as she walked away.

"Happy Birthday, Stefan."


	16. Somethings not quite right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nova's sexually frustrated, Vampires chat over tea and biscuits and the twins save their damsel.

After another soul-sucking day of school, she still had a lot to do; she needed to study, go to her annually scheduled appointment at the local beauty salon to get her hair colored, bring food over to Matt because while she technically just owes him homemade cookies, he sucks at cooking anything that isn't frozen and she's mildly worried he'll starve. She also has to prepare another study session with Jeremy, come up with a reasonable excuse to placate Damon for a few more days till they could find out more about the spell Emily gave them - the list honestly goes on but -

Instead, she unwound on her bed with one hand in her panties and another playing her nipple.

_What?_

She was happily alone for the first time in a long time, no Vampires popping in for unexpected visits, her dad was currently taking Bonnie to get her car inspected, even Merlin was suspiciously absent from the house.

She usually has quickies in weird public places, but lately, she's been so busy dealing with Supernatural drama on top of school work that she hasn't had time to even masturbate, let alone find someone to have a quick fuck with.

So, yeah, she's going to take advantage of her being alone while she was, you know, alone.

Nova breathing picked up steadily, she sighed in pleasure as she applied more pressure to her clit. She closed her eyes and tried to think of someone else's fingers pushing inside of her instead of her own. She hasn't slept with anyone with male parts in a while, she reflected idly, she got wetter at the lewd thought of actually taking her time with someone, slowly tasting every inch of their body before she rode them until she couldn't hold her self up anymore.

She started grinding the palm of her hand on her clit, pushing her fingers further into her wet heat, she pinched her nipple harder, moaning softly, her cheeks flushed as she got closer and closer to orgasm.

Nova ignored the ringing noise, trying to keep up the momentum, she impatiently rubbed the palm of her hand on her clit faster, the ringing blessedly stopped for a moment, only before starting back up. She tried to ignore it - she was so close, just a little bit more - but when her phone rang for the third time she knew she couldn't ignore it anymore as thoughts of maybe someone being hurt raced through her mind.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me right now," Nova whined into her pillow, she pulled her hand out of her crop top, blindly reaching for her persistently ringing phone on the cluttered nightstand.

The hand cramp that seized her hand when she awkwardly pulled her hand out of her panties instantly killed any lingering pleasure that she'd been having.

She didn't bother to look to see who it was, she double tapped the vague direction she thought the accept call icon was before pressing the phone to her ear. Nova's voice slightly muffled by the pillow she had face planted into, but it did absolutely nothing to hide the ire in her voice, "This better be the fucking apocalypse,"

"Uh... not exactly..."

"...Caroline? Wait - what do you mean, not exactly?" Nova repeated the words questioningly, she sat up in her bed, paranoia kicking in as she went through a list of bad things that could have happened.

It was worryingly high with her overactive imagination and all.

"Well, uh, long story short,"

Nova snorted at that, knowing with Caroline, she'd end up making even the short version practically ten pages long.

"Damon had been looking for you after school. Apparently, he wanted to track a vampire with a really old and weirdly familiar compass - which, I didn't know was a thing until now,"

Nova knew wherever this was going was not going to make her happy and blissful like she could be right now if her vibrator hadn't run out of batteries. She internally cursed - or was that out loud, she wasn't sure right now - when she tripped, distracted by her thoughts so much she almost ended up faceplanting into her wooden floors, forgetting the [lace tights](https://www.polyvore.com/saving_damsels_damon/set?id=233497198) pulled down around her ankles.

"He was going to leave when he found out you weren't there. But then I, maybe, sorta asked if I could help. And now here I am, waiting for him to exit this creepy warehouse. But, Nova, he's been in there for a while and I'm getting mildly worried-" Caroline finished her rambling in one breath, it was honestly impressive, even for her, but she knew that if she didn't cut her friend off the blonde could and would go on for ages.

"Caroline, I'm going need you to breathe and then slowly give me instructions to the creepy warehouse, okay?" Nova gently cut off her off, after pulling her tights up under her skirt she started lacing her boots as listened to Caroline's instructions.

She vaguely remembered seeing the row of spaced out warehouses on one of her many jogs around Mystic Falls.

"Okay, just try to relax. I'm coming - I mean, I'll be right there," Nova corrected her words even though she doubted Caroline even caught the faux pas, she ended the call with one last reassurance to the anxious Caroline.

Sadly, she wouldn't be coming anytime soon, she thought with a frown. She sighed at her shit luck before grabbing her vest from the foot of her bed, she pulled it on as she hurriedly rushed out of her bedroom - only to stomp back in to use a shit ton of hand sanitizer on her hands.

Nova rushed down the stairs, skipping the last two with a jump that she regretted as soon as she landed clumsily on her heel. She smiled brightly when she saw her sister and father entering the house, she stopped the front door from closing. "Hey, dad. Bye, dad. We have to go rescue a damsel in distress." Nova spoke in a rush, helping her sister back into her jacket when she'd been in the process of removing it.

"What's going on? Who are we rescuing?" Bonnie questioned with a confused frown, sending their equally bewildered father a regretful glance while she ran along with her twin who had already hurried outside and down the front steps.

"Caroline called -"

"She's in danger?!"

"Not the damsel I'm talking about."

* * *

 

 

"Do we have to save him?" Bonnie questioned, she was half-joking, half-serious - mostly serious though.

"He might not need saving. But we probably should at least make sure he didn't drag Caroline deeper into his shit - we should also probably make sure he isn't dead." Nova added the last part on absently, speeding when the light turned green.

One day she's going to get a speeding ticket, she thought in amusement instead of in alarm like most people would, mostly because she wouldn't be the one paying the tickets, and also, getting a speeding ticket is the least of her concerns.

Eventually, she found the warehouse - well, honestly, she's shit at listening to directions of any kind, but she found Caroline's blonde hair that served as a beacon, that had to count for something, right? - she shrugged off her thoughts as she slowed down, parking behind Caroline's car.

The blonde herself was leaning on the hood of her own car, playing with her phone, like there wasn't potentially a Vampire fight going on in the warehouse in front of her. Caroline looked up with a relieved expression on her face when the twins got out the car and slammed the red car doors in unison.

"You got here fast," Caroline remarked idly, too busy studying Bonnie's faux-terrified face in barely contained amusement.

Nova ignored all of this - she hadn't been driving that fast - to root in her car for something, anything liquid. She smirked in triumph when she found an old plastic water bottle on the back seat. It was half empty, or half full depending on what type of person you are. It'd have to do, she reasoned to herself, slamming her car door she walked up to the two chatting teens.

"How long has he been in there?" Bonnie inquired, turning her head to look at the Fell's Warehouse, squinting in the sunlight.

"Fifteen minutes, I've been counting, well, my phone has been counting for me," Caroline amended looking at her phone, the twins shared an amused look while she shut off the timer on her phone.

"He told me to leave after the compass pointed to the warehouse. But I don't like taking orders from murderous vampires and this is kind of fishy, so I called you." Caroline continued bluntly, looking at her chipped pink nail polish in distaste.

"Well...If we don't, you know, come out after fifteen minutes for any unknown reasons, call Grams," Nova announced with a beaming smile before walking towards the Warehouse with confident strides. Bonnie joined her side after sending Caroline a reassuring glance that did nothing to actually reassure the blonde teen.

"Okay, so, how do you wanna do this, Bon-Bon?"

"I thought you had a plan!"

"I do - _I do_ have a plan. I was just wondering if you had any helpful input. Don't worry, I always have a plan." Nova replied with a sheepish grin at her twin, not mentioning that it was really more of a half plan, thought up on the ride here. She then proceeded to tell her twin the plan, but they barely had time to further the plan because the closer they got to the door, the quieter they had to be - because of the stupid Vampires and their ironically Superman hearing.

"All I can think about is my ex-girlfriend. I wanna be with her and bite her and stuff." They could hear someone through the warehouse door that was left slightly ajar, the twins shared a glance, both of them cringing at the creepy dialogue.

"Well, you probably love her," Damon responded, clearly in pain despite his casual tone; the two Vampires continued to speak as though chatting over biscuits and tea.

Nova nodded at her sister before slamming the door open, the weird ass conversation paused at the sound of the door hitting the Warehouse wall. The twins did their best to walk in casually as they could while going into what was the equivalent of a Vampire den, nest, whatever. Sneaking up on Vicki had been stupid even with the Salvatore brother's distracting her, Vampires are fucking bloodhounds and she's not going to bother trying that shit ever again.

She couldn't remember much about what she wrote in her Journal about Vampire Logan - human Logan had been a douchebag to all the girls, especially whenever Jenna had to babysit them - but she remembered that he'd been a ripper. Ripper or not, the douchebag was the least of her worries, like below her inevitable speeding tickets worry.

The twins kept walking forward through the warehouse at a calm pace, only for both of them to jump in surprise when Logan appeared barely five feet away from them. His surprised eyes turned a hungry crimson when he saw them, dark veins appearing beneath his eyes, and his crazed grin showed sharp teeth.

Nova could feel her sister shoulders tense up beside her at the sight, she absently remembered that Bonnie's actually never seen a Vampire's face outside of their Ancestors Journals, drawings and reality tend to be two different things. She swatted the stray thought away as she quickly squeezed the water left in her large water bottle, she aimed at his face.

The water obviously threw Logan off for a moment, his face was comical as he basically flinched back in what was mostly surprise, he spat out the little water that had managed to get into his mouth. "I'm going to enjoy killing you brats," Logan growled at the twins with a glare, him having to wipe the water out of his eyes lessened the impact of the glare so much that Nova couldn't help but snort in amusement.

The display thankfully focused her twin, and not wanting to waste a moment they both focused on the water that soaked into his clothes, unknowingly they thought of one-word simultaneously; _'Ignis'_

They flinched at his sudden screams when his clothes caught fire, it barely even took a second for his clothes to start to burn with an intensity that was more than what either of the girls had in mind when casting the spell. "You got this?" Nova asked her sister, who only nodded, keeping her eyes on the Vampire as he started rapidly patting out the flames, it did almost nothing to snuff the flames.

Nova cautiously started inching her way around him while he was still distracted by his burning arm, she scrunched her nose up in disgust when the smell of burnt flesh reached her nose.

"Hello, damsel..." Nova greeted with a smile when she found the asshole, he was collapsed on the concrete floor, four bleeding holes in his chest - which, _ouch_ , that's gotta hurt, she thought, grimacing she walked closer.

"What are you doing here?" Damon asked instead of responding to her greeting - rude, she thought it was fucking hilarious and should be acknowledged as such.

"What? No thank you so very much for saving me from the crazy with the wooden bullets?" She inquired teasingly, sighing overdramatically when he just he rolled his eyes. He watched her cautiously when she squatted down on the concrete floor next to him - like it was her that bit people for - nevermind, she stopped her thoughts when she thought about all the times she did bite people for fun.

"Caroline called," Nova finally answered his question after a moment of grimacing when she got a closer look at the bullet holes littering his chest.

"Should've known blondie wouldn't keep her mouth shut," Damon replied with a roll of his eyes, still finding time to be an asshole even when he had holes in his chest.

Nova breathed in and out as she steeled herself for what she was going to do, ignoring the frown he was giving her, and without preamble, she tore open his shirt to get to the bullet wounds. She chose to ignore the ill timing return of her libido when she finally managed to tear his bloodstained shirt - because, really, vagina? Not right fucking now - and instead she latched onto the anger that'd she'd been holding in since she gotten the frantic call from her best friend.

"Yeah...about that, why didn't you call me instead of enlisting my very human nonmagical best friend to help you?" Nova questioned casually, she didn't hesitate with her badly concealed anger, her sharp manicured nails dug into the flesh around the bullethole brutally. Nova had done what she could to keep Damon away from Caroline, she had made a fucking spell that'd protect all of her loved ones, she'd deliberately drawn attention to herself and away from Caroline, and the thought of everything she did being all for nothing made her bitter at herself than anyone else.

Damon groaned in discomfort, glaring when she took her sweet time pulling out the first wooden bullet. Eventually, she yanked it out carelessly, flicking the bullet away in disgust.

She paused in her pursuit of pulling out another one, there was a moment of eerie silence where there had been a muted conversation, she only relaxed when Logan screaming picked up again. Go, Bonnie, she thought with pride. Impatiently, she waited for an answer, her blood-soaked fingers already pulling out another bullet.

"I was going to call you, but she offered to help, insisted really," Damon replied to her question, grimacing as she deftly pulled out another wooden bullet, she tried to listen to him explain and keep an ear out for her sister.

"I personally think she's feeling a little useless because her two BFFs are actually useful and she's, well, not." Damon had the balls to reply callously when she'd finally removed the last wooden bullet.

Nova didn't get to reply back scathingly, only having time for a heated glare when she heard her sister gasp in horror behind them. Nova turned her head towards the noise in alarm, worried that Logan had somehow gotten to her - only to flinch back at the sight she somehow hadn't noticed until now.

Bodies on top of bodies, they were all piled carelessly in a corner, all assumingly drained of their blood before they were discarded like broken dolls, the sight was more than sickening. The disturbing sight and the smell of burning flesh mixed with the day's old corpses made Bonnie lose her lunch on the grimy concrete floor. Nova was used to death, she accepted it as another part of life, but even she struggled not to vomit. If this was the kind of shit an amateur Ripper could do, she wondered what horror show Stefan has and would cause.

She turned away from the sight, feeling sick to her stomach at the horrible display. Most of the women disturbingly reminded her of Jenna - why does she have to notice that shit? Thanks for that fucked up thought brain, she groaned at her thoughts.

"Oh, right. Almost forgot about that - turns out the guy was a bit of a ripper. The smell alone is killing me." Damon joked with an overdone grimace, although he seemed disgusted by the smell, he was clearly unaffected by the sight. Bonnie shot him a venomous glare at his disrespectfulness for the dead before she got distracted by a text message, she shakily pulled her phone out of her cardigan pocket while Nova watched her in concern. She knew she couldn't shelter her twin like an infant, but she'd rather save her from the sight so early in this shit show.

"Caroline wants to know if we're alive," Bonnie told them as she looked at her phone, clearing her throat, she carefully avoided looking at the horrible sight as she continued, "Logan's temporarily dead. I'm going to go and reassure her we're not dead."

Damon watched Bonnie rush out the warehouse in dark amusement, it rekindled her ire. But, instead of saying anything, she focused on breathing out of her mouth instead of her nose so she wouldn't vomit from the absolute shit smells surrounding them right now. She could nothing but glare at him, which he ignored.

"I guess I'll call this in, the Council will wanna see this," Damon declared with a small grimace at the dead bodies as he got up off the floor. She hummed in acknowledgment but didn't say anything as he pulled out his phone while they walked out the warehouse.

Damon took care of Logan before they left, the news reporter wasn't as pretty when he had terrible burns, a snapped neck and, you know, without a heart, literally. It was a little overkill for the idiot if you asked her, but no one did.

Nova was just happy to get away from that shithole, she could tell the girls were too. Sadly, she had to drive Damon to the Boarding House, he could hardly walk straight, let alone walk the long distance to his house, Vampire speed or not. Bonnie didn't want to be any late for career fair - lies, everyone was late to a career fair. Nova's sure she just didn't want to sit in the same car as Damon - so the three girls shared hugs before Caroline and Bonnie drove towards the school while Nova drove a slowly healing Damon to the Boarding House.

* * *

 

 

She hadn't planned on staying but she had got a text from her sister, telling her that their dad had gone to the career fair.

Instead of making her happy that he'd decided to participate in their futures - if they have one - it just made her want to avoid going to the thing for as long as she could put it off. She knows that she's being unfair to him, with her wanting for him to be more involved in their lives, or at least Bonnie's life, and then avoiding him when he makes an effort; she just doesn't want to feel the extreme disappointment when he inevitably leaves town for his work, _again._

So here she was, sitting on top of Damon's bathroom countertop, snooping through his shit with her right hand underneath the running faucet, the warm water washing away the dried blood on her hand. He has a surprising amount of hair products for someone who makes fun of his brother's hair, she thought to herself in amusement.

"Whoever turned Logan has to be the vampire who let Vicki out the cellar and bulldozed over you at Stefan's birthday party," Damon stated from the shower, mostly voicing his theories out loud more than he was talking to the room's other occupant.

She had claimed the bathroom first - she's going to ignore the fact that technically it was his bathroom - but she'd barely had time to blink before he had stripped and gotten in the very glass shower, but he hadn't kicked her out and she wasn't one to waste a free show - glass shower, she mentally repeated, _glass._

Wait - she put her pervy thoughts on hold when his words got through her stupid brain - she sat up straighter as she ran his words over in her head again, once they processed, she started cursing her stupidity.

"What's that face for?"

Nova jumped at the sudden question and also the fact that Damon appeared right in front of her while she was typically lost in her thoughts. She schooled her features as much as she could after being caught off guard, which wasn't much, considering he was really fucking close, and naked. Nova's not sure if she should be happy or confused that hot Vampires keep deciding on flashing her after they get out of showers, she decided on happy, ecstatic, really.

"If you keep doing that I'm going to eventually die from a heart attack," Nova replied after she calmed down, miraculously keeping her eyes on his face while she blindly reached behind her to grab a towel from behind her. Damon caught the towel she threw before it hit him in his stupidly attractive face, "Stop avoiding the question. You know something." He stated the obvious, tying the towel around his hips.

"I know a lot of things, you're going to have to be more specific," Nova replied dryly, trying to hide a shit eating grin and failing, she slid off the counter when the second faucet she'd been leaning on started digging into her ass uncomfortably.

"Please don't play stupid, it doesn't suit you,"

"Are you saying you think I'm smart?"

"If you were dumb, this be much less of a hassle than it is."

" _Aw,_ how sweet," Nova replied with a beaming smile, still ignoring his question she walked away from him and into the bedroom when she heard her phone ring.

"Are you ever going to give me a straight answer?" Damon asked dourly, following her - still not dressed, it was kind of distracting but she was ignoring it.

"Sorry, sugar. I'm not straight, therefore I can't give you a straight answer." Nova quipped without a pause, she laughed at her own joke, and ignoring his sigh and eye-roll, she answered her phone.

"Where are you?" Bonnie wasted no time asking, her distressed voice concerning Nova right away, wiping the smile off her face.

"I'm still at the boarding house. What's wrong, Bonnie?" Nova asked hesitantly, shooting Damon a glare when his towel fell on her head. Such a child, she thought while throwing the towel on the floor, conveniently ignoring the fact she had did the same thing not too long ago.

"Emily's talisman, it's gone."

Damon appeared in front of her at Bonnie's panicked announcement - he had pants on at least, thank Google for that, she didn't need that kind of distraction - his face showing his rage, she fought not to wince at his anger despite the fact he hadn't even 'Vamped Out' on her, yet.

"What the hell does she mean; 'It's gone?!'" He spoke with a glare in her direction - like it was her fault that the thing had been stolen.

"I had it on, it was right on my neck - and now it's not!" Bonnie responded angrily, having heard what he'd said - yelled, really.

Nova breathed in and out of her nose, trying not to get angry herself, and failing. She put her sister on speakerphone and threw it face down on the bed, more so she could pace without her phone in her hand than for the only other person in the room who has Vampire hearing.

"Okay, let's just think about this, like sane - well, maybe not sane - but rational people. Where were you when you noticed it was gone?" Nova questioned her sister, pacing from the door to the bed, trying to think of ways to shake - maime, shake, same difference, right? - the person who she now knows did this.

The twins went over Bonnie's steps, and after a while, they reluctantly ruled out Magic since Bonnie would have felt _something_. They soon decided she'd either lost it or the other more likely scenario - the unknown Vampire in town had found a way around the talisman zapping anyone with ill intent who came in contact with it.

Damon was still furious but less than before and left the room when they finally narrowed down the possibilities. She threw her phone back into her messenger bag after she exchanged goodbyes with her twin, who had mostly calmed down when she'd reassured her twin she didn't blame her because she highly doubts it was her fault.

"Where are you going?" Nova questioned, curious when she saw him pulling his leather jacket on, obviously preparing to leave.

"Out," Damon stated the obvious - again - apparently angry with her for no apparent reason other than the fact they have all have shit luck, he left the room without another word.

"No? Really?! Oh, _darn_! I coulda never guessed it!" Nova returned sarcastically in a decent faux-southern accent, following him down the stairs after she quickly grabbed her bag.

"I need another way into the tomb since your sister screwed up the only way I know of. So I'm going to Georgia to find someone who just might know another way." Damon announced bitterly once they where outside, he started moving to his car with hurried strides, probably to get rid of her, with her short legs and all she was bound to lag behind.

But here it was, the perfect time to tell him she had another way, she opened her mouth to tell him -

And then her paranoia kicked in. Because if the Vampire who'd been fucking with them had found a way to steal the talisman without the help of a Witch then she'd - yes, she knows who it is now - been watching them for a long time, without any one of them knowing.

When Damon and Stefan are near the twins, they could feel something, it was like an indescribable power and, well, the feeling of death; the feeling only grew when in contact. She hadn't felt that feeling at all when not around them, not to mention you would think they would at least notice someone stalking them - but _nothing_.

It could be that the Vampire stalking them was better than shown on the television show, which was possible. It could be a lot of things, to be honest. All Nova knows is that despite wanting to change things, she hates when she gets caught off guard with new information, not knowing what was going to happen next thrilled and scared her all at the same time.

So despite wanting to tell him, she didn't. Because their little stalker(s) could be around right now and she didn't want to give them any more information than they had, especially after that fiasco of almost killing her, or at least her brain cells.

"I'll let you drive my car," Nova blurted out suddenly when she saw him getting in his car, feeling horrified when those words came out her mouth, but it'd gotten him to pause.

"What?" Damon questioned, his scowl gone when he turned towards her, instead he was just confused.

She was also confused, how dare her mouth utter those words. But, it might get him to let her go with him, she needed to go to Bree's Bar either way. And it'd conveniently get her out of town and away from the family drama, she could feel it building up. The thought of avoiding awkward conversations with her dad for a whole day made her sigh with resignation.

"If you let me come with you, I'll let you drive my car there and back. I need to go to Georgia anyway, and I've seen you eyeing my car almost as much as you've eyed my ass, so...?" Nova had to yank the words from her mouth, sadly holding up her keys and dangling them in her for good measure. Damon didn't waste the opportunity and after giving his car one more parting glance, he unlocked her car door and got in.

Why can't everyone be bribed with homemade cookies like Matt? She sighed dramatically at the sky before getting in on the other side when he unlocked the passenger side.

* * *

 

Nova requested for him to take her home so she could get something, which was vague, but he obliged, driving in the direction of her house, but not without subtly, not so subtly, prodding her about what she needed. She didn't answer, too weirded out by being in the passenger seat of her car.

"So...why exactly do you need to go to Georgia?" Damon questioned after a few minutes of silence between them, the radio was blasting rock music to avoid conversation, but he did it anyway.

"Lexi called me this morning, she apparently had a... breakthrough with Vicki. She asked if I could come by to some place called Bree's bar." Nova replied, keeping her eyes on the way he drove, she decided she would kill him slowly if he crashed her baby, the deal be damned.

"Huh, that's oddly convenient, I'm heading to exact same place," Damon commented, eyeing her suspiciously, only putting his eyes back on the road when she gave him a death glare for even daring to risk wrecking her car in an accident. "Sometimes I get the feeling you know a lot more than you're telling me," he said while parking in front of her house, at least she had an excuse to run away from this conversation.

"I know everything," Nova spoke ominously as she could, staring piercingly into his eyes.

She could only hold eye contact with a blank expression for a moment before she started giggling like a loon, leaving the car before he could ask any more questions, or try to kill her for her lame ass jokes.

Nova knows that technically that Lexi hadn't called to ask her to make Vicki a daylight ring, but she knows from the short time she spent talking with her that it was doubtful that Lexi would stay in Georgia for long. That meant that Vicki would be going wherever Lexi would be until she could be trusted on her own.

So here she was digging through her shit in her closet, looking for another lapis lazuli ring, cursing at the endless junk of witchcraft things that had cluttered in her closet. And that's how Bonnie found her, her twin didn't even blink at Nova's vulgar vocabulary that she decided to try out on the crapload of junk in her closet.

"Why is Damon in your car, on the driver's side," Bonnie asked without even a 'Hello' or 'Nice to see no Vampires have eaten you just yet', so rude.

To be fair though, she hadn't let anyone other than herself drive her car since Caroline crashed into that stop sign when Nova had let her drive.

"I need to go to Georgia, I don't want to drive myself, so I convinced him to drive me," Nova explained the bare minimal, too busy looking for that stupid ring she knows is here somewhere - aha, she smirked in triumph when she found the lapis lazuli ring she had made, it was her last one. She would have to make more of them later, she cringed at the thought, the only thing that kept her from crying at the thought was that she didn't have to smelt the damn setting; DIY jewelry making was not her thing.

"How did you manage to trust him with your car - why did you trust him with your car? And what do you mean, you need to go to Georgia?" Bonnie's first question sent a shiver down her spine as she experienced the strange feeling of deja vu, it happened every time one of her Visions came true.

"Whoa, trust is a strong word," Nova spoke up after shaking off the feeling, closing her closet door with her Magic as she was too busy hugging a reluctant Merlin who'd been missing all day. "I barely trust myself let alone the temperamental vampire - I mean, remember that time in freshman year that our school decided to do trust falls?"

She had scoffed at the idea of trust falls then and she'd do it now - I mean who comes up with these ideas?

"And you decided to tackle Tyler instead of falling? Yeah, I think I remember," Bonnie responded sarcastically, making her twin beam at her in pride. "But it still doesn't answer the question of why you're going to Georgia with Damon if he's so 'temperamental'." She continued to question, following her twin down the stairs.

"Because... Lexi called, she needs help... with stuff and -"

"Are you leaving town just to avoid dad?"

"Of course not," Nova scoffed in denial, laughing nervously at the look at twin was giving her. "Okay, fine! I'll admit it just please stop looking at me like that! Yes, I am leaving town just to avoid dad."

"Not without me your not,"

Bonnie tried to use the excuse that she didn't want to leave her alone in a car with a crazy Vampire but when Nova didn't budge, she confessed how she had caught their dad roaming through her stuff earlier today, which was worrying. Despite the fact he let them stay with Grams when he was out of town, they doubted he knew what they'd been up to; underage drinking, witchcraft, sex, etcetera, etcetera.

Suspected, sure. Knew for sure, definitely not. If he knew everything that went on in this town they'd be packed up and shipped to Antarctica in ten seconds flat. Anyway, the twins didn't want to have that conversation with him, ever, but they'd settle for avoiding it for a day.

And so, that's how she ended up road tripping to Georgia with Bonnie and Damon, in the same car. It didn't even take them five minutes before they started bickering like an old married couple. Nova did her best to ignore it, turning up the music loud enough that she could barely hear herself think. She just stared out the window with growing boredom, watching as houses passed by in a blur, but there was something bothering her - and it wasn't the petty arguing still growing strong, her eyes glued themselves to the road before flickering to the Mystic Falls sign.

"What is it?" Bonnie took time out from bickering with Damon to question her sister with a concerned frown when Nova turned around in her seat to stare at the _'Welcome to Mystic Falls'_ sign.

"Nothing, just, thought I was forgetting something," Nova tried to dismiss the bad feeling, but she couldn't shake it off no matter how hard she tried.

Something had changed, her mind supplied ominously.


	17. Saving Damsels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twins save a Damsel - and then run away from their problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, don't hate me, lol. I update on fanfic more and I totally fucking forgot to update this chapter, which was supposed to out weeks ago because I have another chapter that I just updated last night. Sorry. Tehehe...

After another soul-sucking day of school, she still had a lot to do; she needed to study, go to her annually scheduled appointment at the local beauty salon to get her hair colored, bring food over to Matt because while she technically just owes him homemade cookies, he sucks at cooking anything that isn't frozen and she's mildly worried he'll starve. She also has to prepare another study session with Jeremy, come up with a reasonable excuse to placate Damon for a few more days till they could find out more about the spell Emily gave them - the list honestly goes on but -

Instead, she unwound on her bed with one hand in her panties and another playing her nipple.

_What?_

She was happily alone for the first time in a long time, no Vampires popping in for unexpected visits, her dad was currently taking Bonnie to get her car inspected, even Merlin was suspiciously absent from the house.

She usually has quickies in weird public places, but lately, she's been so busy dealing with Supernatural drama on top of school work that she hasn't had time to even masturbate, let alone find someone to have a quick fuck with.

So, yeah, she's going to take advantage of her being alone while she was, you know, alone.

Nova breathing picked up steadily, she sighed in pleasure as she applied more pressure to her clit. She closed her eyes and tried to think of someone else's fingers pushing inside of her instead of her own. She hasn't slept with anyone with male parts in a while, she reflected idly, she got wetter at the lewd thought of actually taking her time with someone, slowly tasting every inch of their body before she rode them until she couldn't hold her self up anymore.

She started grinding the palm of her hand on her clit, pushing her fingers further into her wet heat, she pinched her nipple harder, moaning softly, her cheeks flushed as she got closer and closer to orgasm.

Nova ignored the ringing noise, trying to keep up the momentum, she impatiently rubbed the palm of her hand on her clit faster, the ringing blessedly stopped for a moment, only before starting back up. She tried to ignore it - she was so close, just a little bit more - but when her phone rang for the third time she knew she couldn't ignore it anymore as thoughts of maybe someone being hurt raced through her mind.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me right now," Nova whined into her pillow, she pulled her hand out of her crop top, blindly reaching for her persistently ringing phone on the cluttered nightstand.

The hand cramp that seized her hand when she awkwardly pulled her hand out of her panties instantly killed any lingering pleasure that she'd been having.

She didn't bother to look to see who it was, she double tapped the vague direction she thought the accept call icon was before pressing the phone to her ear. Nova's voice slightly muffled by the pillow she had face planted into, but it did absolutely nothing to hide the ire in her voice, "This better be the fucking apocalypse,"

_"Uh... not exactly..."_

"...Caroline? Wait - what do you mean, not exactly?" Nova repeated the words questioningly, she sat up in her bed, paranoia kicking in as she went through a list of bad things that could have happened.

It was worryingly high with her overactive imagination and all.

_"Well, uh, long story short,"_

Nova snorted at that, knowing with Caroline, she'd end up making even the short version practically ten pages long.

_"Damon had been looking for you after school. Apparently, he wanted to track a vampire with a really old and weirdly familiar compass - which, I didn't know was a thing until now,"_

Nova knew wherever this was going was not going to make her happy and blissful like she could be right now if her vibrator hadn't run out of batteries. She internally cursed - or was that out loud, she wasn't sure right now - when she tripped, distracted by her thoughts so much she almost ended up faceplanting into her wooden floors, forgetting the lace tights pulled down around her ankles.

 _"He was going to leave when he found out you weren't there. But then I, maybe, sorta asked if I could help. And now here I am, waiting for him to exit this creepy warehouse. But, Nova, he's been in there for a while and I'm getting mildly worried-"_ Caroline finished her rambling in one breath, it was honestly impressive, even for her, but she knew that if she didn't cut her friend off the blonde could and would go on for ages.

"Caroline, I'm going need you to breathe and then slowly give me instructions to the creepy warehouse, okay?" Nova gently cut off her off, after pulling her tights up under her skirt she started lacing her boots as listened to Caroline's instructions.

She vaguely remembered seeing the row of spaced out warehouses on one of her many jogs around Mystic Falls.

"Okay, just try to relax. I'm coming - _I mean_ , I'll be right there," Nova corrected her words even though she doubted Caroline even caught the faux pas, she ended the call with one last reassurance to the anxious Caroline. Sadly, she wouldn't be coming anytime soon, she thought with a frown. She sighed at her shit luck before grabbing her [vest](https://www.polyvore.com/saving_damsels_damon/set?id=233497198) from the foot of her bed, she pulled it on as she hurriedly rushed out of her bedroom - only to stomp back in to use a shit ton of hand sanitizer on her hands.

Nova rushed down the stairs, skipping the last two with a jump that she regretted as soon as she landed clumsily on her heel. She smiled brightly when she saw her sister and father entering the house, she stopped the front door from closing. "Hey, dad. Bye, dad. We have to go rescue a damsel in distress." Nova spoke in a rush, helping her sister back into her jacket when she'd been in the process of removing it.

"What's going on? Who are we rescuing?" Bonnie questioned with a confused frown, sending their equally bewildered father a regretful glance while she ran along with her twin who had already hurried outside and down the front steps.

"Caroline called -"

"She's in danger?!"

"Not the damsel I'm talking about."

 

* * *

 

 

"Do we have to save him?" Bonnie questioned, she was half-joking, half-serious - mostly serious though.

"He might not need saving. But we probably should at least make sure he didn't drag Caroline deeper into his shit - we should also probably make sure he isn't dead." Nova added the last part on absently, speeding when the light turned green.

One day she's going to get a speeding ticket, she thought in amusement instead of in alarm like most people would, mostly because she wouldn't be the one paying the tickets, and also, getting a speeding ticket is the least of her concerns.

Eventually, she found the warehouse - well, honestly, she's shit at listening to directions of any kind, but she found Caroline's blonde hair that served as a beacon, that had to count for something, _right?_ \- she shrugged off her thoughts as she slowed down, parking behind Caroline's car. The blonde herself was leaning on the hood of her own car, playing with her phone, like there wasn't potentially a Vampire fight going on in the warehouse in front of her. Caroline looked up with a relieved expression on her face when the twins got out the car and slammed the red car doors in unison.

"You got here fast," Caroline remarked idly, too busy studying Bonnie's faux-terrified face in barely contained amusement.

Nova ignored all of this - she hadn't been driving _that_ fast - to root in her car for something, _anything_ liquid. She smirked in triumph when she found an old plastic water bottle on the back seat. It was half empty, or half full depending on what type of person you are. It'd have to do, she reasoned to herself, slamming her car door she walked up to the two chatting teens.

"How long has he been in there?" Bonnie inquired, turning her head to look at the Fell's Warehouse, squinting in the sunlight.

"Fifteen minutes, I've been counting, well, my phone has been counting for me," Caroline amended looking at her phone, the twins shared an amused look while she shut off the timer on her phone.

"He told me to leave after the compass pointed to the warehouse. But I don't like taking orders from murderous vampires and this is kind of fishy, so I called you." Caroline continued bluntly, looking at her chipped pink nail polish in distaste.

"Well...If we don't, you know, come out after fifteen minutes for any unknown reasons, call Grams," Nova announced with a beaming smile before walking towards the Warehouse with confident strides. Bonnie joined her side after sending Caroline a reassuring glance that did nothing to actually reassure the blonde teen.

"Okay, so, how do you wanna do this, Bon-Bon?"

"I thought you had a plan!"

"I do - _I do_ have a plan. I was just wondering if you had any helpful input. Don't worry, I always have a plan." Nova replied with a sheepish grin at her twin, not mentioning that it was really more of a half plan, thought up on the ride here. She then proceeded to tell her twin the plan, but they barely had time to further the plan because the closer they got to the door, the quieter they had to be - because of the stupid Vampires and their ironically Superman hearing.

"All I can think about is my ex-girlfriend. I wanna be with her and bite her and stuff." They could hear someone through the warehouse door that was left slightly ajar, the twins shared a glance, both of them cringing at the creepy dialogue.

"Well, you probably love her," Damon responded, clearly in pain despite his casual tone; the two Vampires continued to speak as though chatting over biscuits and tea.

Nova nodded at her sister before slamming the door open, the weird ass conversation paused at the sound of the door hitting the Warehouse wall. The twins did their best to walk in casually as they could while going into what was the equivalent of a Vampire den, nest, whatever. Sneaking up on Vicki had been stupid even with the Salvatore brother's distracting her, Vampires are fucking bloodhounds and she's not going to bother trying that shit ever again.

She couldn't remember much about what she wrote in her Journal about Vampire Logan - human Logan had been a douchebag to all the girls, especially whenever Jenna had to babysit them - but she remembered that he'd been a ripper.

Ripper or not, the douchebag was the least of her worries, like _below_ her inevitable speeding tickets worry.

The twins kept walking forward through the warehouse at a calm pace, only for both of them to jump in surprise when Logan appeared barely five feet away from them. His surprised eyes turned a hungry crimson when he saw them, dark veins appearing beneath his eyes, and his crazed grin showed sharp teeth.

Nova could feel her sister shoulders tense up beside her at the sight, she absently remembered that Bonnie's actually never seen a Vampire's face outside of their Ancestors Journals, drawings and reality tend to be two different things. She swatted the stray thought away as she quickly squeezed the water left in her large water bottle, she aimed at his face.

The water obviously threw Logan off for a moment, his face was comical as he basically flinched back in what was mostly surprise, he spat out the little water that had managed to get into his mouth. "I'm going to enjoy killing you brats," Logan growled at the twins with a glare, him having to wipe the water out of his eyes lessened the impact of the glare so much that Nova couldn't help but snort in amusement.

The display thankfully focused her twin, and not wanting to waste a moment they both focused on the water that soaked into his clothes, unknowingly they thought of one-word simultaneously;

_'Ignis'_

They flinched at his sudden screams when his clothes caught fire, it barely even took a second for his clothes to start to burn with an intensity that was more than what either of the girls had in mind when casting the spell. "You got this?" Nova asked her sister, who only nodded, keeping her eyes on the Vampire as he started rapidly patting out the flames, it did almost nothing to snuff the flames.

Nova cautiously started inching her way around him while he was still distracted by his burning arm, she scrunched her nose up in disgust when the smell of burnt flesh reached her nose.

"Hello, damsel..." Nova greeted with a smile when she found the asshole, he was collapsed on the concrete floor, four bleeding holes in his chest - which, _ouch_ , that's gotta hurt, she thought, grimacing she walked closer.

"What are you doing here?" Damon asked instead of responding to her greeting - rude, she thought it was fucking hilarious and should be acknowledged as such.

"What? No thank you so very much for saving me from the crazy with the wooden bullets?" She inquired teasingly, sighing overdramatically when he just he rolled his eyes.

He watched her cautiously when she squatted down on the concrete floor next to him - like it was her that bit people for - nevermind, she stopped her thoughts when she thought about all the times she did bite people for fun. "Caroline called," Nova finally answered his question after a moment of grimacing when she got a closer look at the bullet holes littering his chest.

"Should've known blondie wouldn't keep her mouth shut," Damon replied with a roll of his eyes, still finding time to be an asshole even when he had holes in his chest.

Nova breathed in and out as she steeled herself for what she was going to do, ignoring the frown he was giving her, and without preamble, she tore open his shirt to get to the bullet wounds. She chose to ignore the ill timing return of her libido when she finally managed to tear his bloodstained shirt - because, _really,_ vagina? Not right fucking now - and instead she latched onto the anger that'd she'd been holding in since she gotten the frantic call from her best friend.

"Yeah...about that, why didn't you call me instead of enlisting my very human nonmagical best friend to help you?" Nova questioned casually, she didn't hesitate with her badly concealed anger, her sharp manicured nails dug into the flesh around the bullethole brutally.

Nova had done what she could to keep Damon away from Caroline, she had made a fucking spell that'd protect all of her loved ones, she'd deliberately drawn attention to herself and away from Caroline, and the thought of everything she did being all for _nothing_ made her bitter and angry at herself more than anyone else.

Damon groaned in discomfort, glaring when she took her sweet time pulling out the first wooden bullet. Eventually, she yanked it out carelessly, flicking the bullet away in disgust. She paused in her pursuit of pulling out another one, there was a moment of eerie silence where there had been muted conversation, she relaxed when Logan screaming picked up again.

Go, Bonnie, she thought with pride. Impatiently, she waited for an answer, her blood-soaked fingers already pulling out another bullet.

"I was going to call you, but she offered to help, insisted really," Damon replied to her question, grimacing as she deftly pulled out another wooden bullet, she tried to listen to him explain and keep an ear out for her sister.

"I personally think she's feeling a little useless because her two BFFs are actually useful and she's, well, _not_." Damon had the balls to reply callously when she'd finally removed the last wooden bullet.

Nova didn't get to reply back scathingly, only having time for a heated glare when she heard her sister gasp in horror behind them. Nova turned her head towards the noise in alarm, worried that Logan had somehow gotten to her - only to flinch back at the sight she somehow hadn't noticed until now.

Bodies on top of bodies, they were all piled carelessly in a corner, all assumingly drained of their blood before they were discarded like broken dolls, the sight was more than sickening. The disturbing sight and the smell of burning flesh mixed with the day's old corpses made Bonnie lose her lunch on the grimy concrete floor.

Nova was used to death, she accepted it as another part of life, but even she struggled not to vomit. If this was the kind of shit an amateur Ripper could do, she wondered what horror show Stefan has and would cause.

She turned away from the sight, feeling sick to her stomach at the horrible display. Most of the women disturbingly reminded her of Jenna - _why_ _does she have to notice that shit?_ Thanks for that fucked up thought brain, she groaned at her thoughts.

"Oh, _right._ Almost forgot about that - turns out the guy was a bit of a ripper. The smell alone is killing me." Damon joked with an overdone grimace, although he seemed disgusted by the smell, he was clearly unaffected by the sight.

Bonnie shot him a venomous glare at his disrespectfulness for the dead before she got distracted by a text message, she shakily pulled her phone out of her cardigan pocket while Nova watched her in concern. She knew she couldn't shelter her twin like an infant, but she'd rather save her from the sight so early in this shit show.

"Caroline wants to know if we're alive," Bonnie told them as she looked at her phone, clearing her throat, she carefully avoided looking at the horrible sight as she continued, "Logan's temporarily dead. I'm going to go and reassure her we're not dead."

Damon watched Bonnie rush out the warehouse in dark amusement, it rekindled her ire. But, instead of saying anything, she focused on breathing out of her mouth instead of her nose so she wouldn't vomit from the absolute shit smells surrounding them right now. She could nothing but glare at him, which he ignored.

"I guess I'll call this in, the Council will wanna see this," Damon declared with a small grimace at the dead bodies as he got up off the floor. She hummed in acknowledgment but didn't say anything as he pulled out his phone while they walked out the warehouse.

Damon took ' _care'_ of Logan before they left, the news reporter wasn't as pretty when he had terrible burns, a snapped neck and, you know, without a heart, literally. It was a little overkill for the idiot if you asked her, but no one did. Nova was just happy to get away from that shithole, she could tell the girls were too.

Sadly, she had to drive Damon to the Boarding House, he could hardly walk straight, let alone walk the long distance to his house, Vampire speed or not. Bonnie didn't want to be late for career fair - lies, everyone was late to a career fair. Nova's sure she just didn't want to sit in the same car as Damon - so the three girls shared hugs before Caroline and Bonnie drove towards the school while Nova drove a slowly healing Damon to the Boarding House.

 

* * *

 

 

She hadn't planned on staying but she had got a text from her sister, telling her that their dad had gone to the career fair.

Instead of making her happy that he'd decided to participate in their futures - if they have one - it just made her want to avoid going to the thing for as long as she could put it off. She knows that she's being unfair to him, with her wanting for him to be more involved in their lives, or at least Bonnie's life, and then avoiding him when he makes an effort; she just doesn't want to feel the extreme disappointment when he inevitably leaves town for his work, again.

So here she was, sitting on top of Damon's bathroom countertop, snooping through his shit with her right hand underneath the running faucet, the warm water washing away the dried blood on her hand. He has a surprising amount of hair products for someone who makes fun of his brother's hair, she thought to herself in amusement.

"Whoever turned Logan has to be the vampire who let Vicki out the cellar and bulldozed over you at Stefan's birthday party," Damon stated from the shower, mostly voicing his theories out loud more than he was talking to the room's other occupant.

She had claimed the bathroom first - she's going to ignore the fact that technically it was his bathroom - but she'd barely had time to blink before he had stripped and gotten in the very glass shower, but he hadn't kicked her out and she wasn't one to waste a free show - glass shower, she mentally repeated, _glass._

Wait - she put her pervy thoughts on hold when his words got through her stupid brain - she sat up straighter as she ran his words over in her head again, once they processed, she started cursing her stupidity.

"What's that face for?"

Nova jumped at the sudden question and also the fact that Damon appeared right in front of her while she was typically lost in her thoughts. She schooled her features as much as she could after being caught off guard, which wasn't much, considering he was really fucking close, and naked. Nova's not sure if she should be happy or confused that hot Vampires keep deciding on flashing her after they get out of showers, she decided on happy, ecstatic, really.

"If you keep doing that I'm going to eventually die from a heart attack," Nova replied after she calmed down, miraculously keeping her eyes on his face while she blindly reached behind her to grab a towel from behind her. Damon caught the towel she threw before it hit him in his stupidly attractive face, "Stop avoiding the question. You know something." He stated the obvious, tying the towel around his hips.

"I know a lot of things, you're going to have to be more specific," Nova replied dryly, trying to hide a shit eating grin and failing, she slid off the counter when the second faucet she'd been leaning on started digging into her ass uncomfortably.

"Please don't play stupid, it doesn't suit you,"

"Are you saying you think I'm smart?"

"If you were dumb, this be much less of a hassle than it is."

" _Aw_ , how sweet," Nova replied with a beaming smile, still ignoring his question she walked away from him and into the bedroom when she heard her phone ring.

"Are you ever going to give me a straight answer?" Damon asked dourly, following her - still not dressed, it was kind of distracting but she was ignoring it.

"Sorry, sugar. I'm not straight, therefore I can't give you a straight answer." Nova quipped without a pause, she laughed at her own joke, and ignoring his sigh and eye-roll, she answered her phone.

 _"Where are you?"_ Bonnie wasted no time asking, her distressed voice concerning Nova right away, wiping the smile off her face.

"I'm still at the boarding house. What's wrong, Bonnie?" Nova asked hesitantly, shooting Damon a glare when his towel fell on her head. Such a child, she thought while throwing the towel on the floor, conveniently ignoring the fact she had did the same thing not too long ago.

_"Emily's talisman, it's gone."_

Damon appeared in front of her at Bonnie's panicked announcement - he had pants on at least, thank Google for that, she didn't need that kind of distraction - his face showing his rage, she fought not to wince at his anger despite the fact he hadn't even 'Vamped Out' on her, yet.

"What the hell does she mean; 'It's gone?!'" He spoke with a glare in her direction - like it was her fault that the thing had been stolen.

 _"I had it on, it was right on my neck - and now it's not!"_ Bonnie responded angrily, having heard what he'd said - yelled, really.

Nova breathed in and out of her nose, trying not to get angry herself, and failing. She put her sister on speakerphone and threw it face down on the bed, more so she could pace without her phone in her hand than for the only other person in the room who has Vampire hearing.

"Okay, let's just think about this, like sane - well, maybe not _sane_ \- but rational people. Where were you when you noticed it was gone?" Nova questioned her sister, pacing from the door to the bed, trying to think of ways to shake - maime, shake, same difference, right? - the person who she now knows did this.

The twins went over Bonnie's steps, and after a while, they reluctantly ruled out Magic since Bonnie would have felt something. They soon decided she'd either lost it or the other more likely scenario - the unknown Vampire in town had found a way around the talisman zapping anyone with ill intent who came in contact with it. Damon was still furious but less than before and left the room when they finally narrowed down the possibilities. She threw her phone back into her messenger bag after she exchanged goodbyes with her twin, who had mostly calmed down when she'd reassured her twin she didn't blame her because she highly doubts it was her fault.

"Where are you going?" Nova questioned, curious when she saw him pulling his leather jacket on, obviously preparing to leave.

"Out," Damon stated the obvious - again - apparently angry with her for no apparent reason other than the fact they have all have shit luck, he left the room without another word.

"No? Really?! Oh, _darn!_ I coulda never guessed it!" Nova returned sarcastically in a decent faux-southern accent, following him down the stairs after she quickly grabbed her bag.

"I need another way into the tomb since your sister screwed up the only way I know of. So I'm going to Georgia to find someone who just might know another way." Damon announced bitterly once they where outside, he started moving to his car with hurried strides, probably to get rid of her, with her short legs and all she was bound to lag behind.

But here it was, the perfect time to tell him she had another way, she opened her mouth to tell him -

And then her paranoia kicked in. Because if the Vampire who'd been fucking with them had found a way to steal the talisman without the help of a Witch then she'd - yes, she knows who it is now - been watching them for a long time, without any one of them knowing. When Damon and Stefan are near the twins, they could feel something, it was like an indescribable power and, well, the feeling of death; the feeling only grew when in contact. She hadn't felt that feeling at all when not around them, not to mention you would think they would at least notice someone stalking them - but nothing.

It could that the Vampire stalking them was better than shown on the television show, which was possible. It could be a lot of things, to be honest. All Nova knows is that despite wanting to change things, she hates when she gets caught off guard with new information, not knowing what was going to happen next thrilled and scared her all at the same time.

So despite wanting to tell him, she didn't. Because their little stalker(s) could be around right now and she didn't want to give them any more information than they had, especially after that fiasco of almost killing her, or at least her brain cells.

"I'll let you drive my car," Nova blurted out suddenly when she saw him getting in his car, feeling horrified when those words came out her mouth, but it'd gotten him to pause.

"What?" Damon questioned, his scowl gone when he turned towards her, instead he was just confused.

She was also confused, how dare her mouth utter those words. But, it might get him to let her go with him, she needed to go to Bree's Bar either way. And it'd conveniently get her out of town and away from the family drama, she could feel building up. The thought of avoiding awkward conversations with her dad for a whole day made her sigh with resignation.

"If you let me come with you, I'll let you drive my car there and back. I need to go to Georgia anyway, and I've seen you eyeing my car almost as much as you've eyed my ass, so...?" Nova had to yank the words from her mouth, sadly holding up her keys and dangling them in her for good measure.

Damon didn't waste the opportunity and after giving his car one more parting glance, he unlocked her car door and got in.

Why can't everyone be bribed with homemade cookies like Matt? She sighed dramatically at the sky before getting in on the other side when he unlocked the passenger side.

 

* * *

 

 

Nova requested for him to take her home so she could get something, which was vague, but he obliged, driving in the direction of her house, but not without subtly, not so subtly, prodding her about what she needed. She didn't answer, too weirded out by being in the passenger seat of her car.

"So...why exactly do _you_ need to go to Georgia?" Damon questioned after a few minutes of silence between them, the radio was blasting rock music to avoid conversation but he did it anyway.

"Lexi called me this morning, she apparently had a... breakthrough with Vicki. She asked if I could come by to some place called Bree's bar." Nova replied, slightly bending the truth, she kept her eyes on the way he drove, she decided she would kill him, _slowly_ , if he crashed her baby, the deal be damned.

"Huh, that's oddly convenient, I'm heading to _exact_ same place," Damon commented, eyeing her suspiciously, only putting his eyes back on the road when she gave him a death glare for even daring to risk wrecking her car in an accident.

"Sometimes I get the feeling you know a lot more than you're telling me," he said while parking in front of her house, at least she had an excuse to run away from this conversation

"I know everything," Nova spoke ominously as she could, staring piercingly into his eyes.

She could only hold eye contact with a blank expression for a moment before she started giggling like a loon, leaving the car before he could ask any more questions, or try to kill her for her lame ass jokes.

Nova knows that technically that Lexi hadn't called to ask her to make Vicki a daylight ring, but she knows from the short time she spent talking with her that it was doubtful that Lexi would stay in Georgia for long. That meant that Vicki would be going wherever Lexi would be until she could be trusted on her own.

So here she was digging through her shit in her closet, looking for another lapis lazuli ring, cursing at the endless junk of witchcraft things that had cluttered in her closet. And that's how Bonnie found her, her twin didn't even blink at Nova's vulgar vocabulary that she decided to try out on the crapload of junk in her closet.

"Why is Damon in your car, on the driver's side," Bonnie asked without even a 'Hello' or 'Nice to see no Vampires have eaten you just yet', so rude.

To be fair though, she hadn't let anyone other than herself drive her car since Caroline crashed into that stop sign when Nova had let her drive.

"I need to go to Georgia, I don't want to drive myself, so I convinced him to drive me," Nova explained the bare minimal, too busy looking for that stupid ring she knows is here somewhere - aha, she smirked in triumph when she found the lapis lazuli ring she had made, it was her last one.

She would have to make more of them later, she cringed at the thought, the only thing that kept her from crying at the thought was that she didn't have to smelt the damn setting; DIY jewelry making was not her thing.

"How did you manage to trust him with your car - why did you trust him with your car? And what do you mean, you need to go to Georgia?" Bonnie's first question sent a shiver down her spine as she experienced the strange feeling of deja vu, it happened every time one of her Visions came true.

"Whoa, trust is a strong word," Nova spoke up after shaking off the feeling, closing her closet door with her Magic as she was too busy hugging a reluctant Merlin who'd been missing all day."I barely trust myself let alone the temperamental vampire - I mean, remember that time in freshman year that our school decided to do trust falls?"

She had scoffed at the idea of trust falls then and she'd do it now - I mean who comes up with these ideas?

"And you decided to tackle Tyler instead of falling? Yeah, I think I remember," Bonnie responded sarcastically, making her twin beam at her in pride. "But it still doesn't answer the question of why you're going to Georgia with Damon if he's so 'temperamental'." She continued to question, following her twin down the stairs.

"Because... Lexi called, she needs help... with stuff and -"

"Are you leaving town just to avoid dad?"

"Of course not," Nova scoffed in denial, laughing nervously at the look at twin was giving her. "Okay, _fine!_ I'll admit it just please stop looking at me like that! Yes, I am leaving town just to avoid dad."

"Not without me your not,"

Bonnie tried to use the excuse that she didn't want to leave her alone in a car with a crazy Vampire but when Nova didn't budge, she confessed how she had caught their dad roaming through her stuff earlier today, which was worrying. Despite the fact he let them stay with Grams when he was out of town, they doubted he knew what they'd been up to lately; underage drinking, witchcraft, sex, etcetera, etcetera.

Suspected, sure. Knew for sure, definitely not. If he knew everything that went on in this town they'd be packed up and shipped to Antarctica in ten seconds flat. Anyway, the twins didn't want to have that conversation with him, ever, but they'd settle for avoiding it for a day.

And so, that's how she ended up road tripping to Georgia with Bonnie and Damon, in the same car. It didn't even take them five minutes before they started bickering like an old married couple. Nova did her best to ignore it, turning up the music loud enough that she could barely hear herself think.

She just stared out the window with growing boredom, watching as houses passed by in a blur, but there was something bothering her - and it wasn't the petty arguing still growing strong, her eyes glued themselves to the road before flickering to the Mystic Falls sign.

"What is it?" Bonnie took time out from bickering with Damon to question her sister with a concerned frown when Nova turned around in her seat to stare at the 'Welcome to Mystic Falls' sign.

"Nothing, just, thought I was forgetting something," Nova tried to dismiss the bad feeling, but she couldn't shake it off no matter how hard she tried.

 _Something had changed,_ her mind supplied ominously.


	18. And so she ran, straight into trouble.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emotional Rollercoasters. Everybody gets drunk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a fun chapter to write, even though it took me a while to actually start writing it. I hope it was worth the wait!

Elena called Bonnie two hours into the car ride from hell as Nova so aptly dubbed the spontaneous trip that she regrets even taking.

She'd never thought she'd ever want to throw herself out of a moving vehicle as much as she did in those two hours.

Elena had been immediately put on speaker after they'd invited Caroline in on the call; turns out Elena had gotten tired of Stefan's bullshit reasonings for them not to be together and had seduced Stefan until he gave in to the inevitable of the ship that is Stelena -

Elena hadn't said those exact words but that's what it'd sounded like to Nova's ears - the moment of bliss for the couple was however cut off abruptly when Elena being, well, _Elena_ , started snooping through Stefan's stuff and found an old picture of Katherine Peirce.

And so, the girls had tried to calm Elena down because in the newly discovered doppelganger's hast to get far away from Stefan and the eerie picture of her duplicate, she'd decided to drive herself home while having an existential crisis.

Nova had felt fucking awful during the whole phone call because she'd known about Elena being a doppelganger for years. And although she probably should have told her when she'd found out about the Supernatural or at least gotten Stefan - the total idiot who left the damn picture out in the open on his fucking desk - to tell Elena since it was technically his baggage; but, honestly, she's known about it so long now that it feels like old news to her.

And so, she had mostly stayed quiet, not wanting to make her friend's pain worse by revealing that she, one of Elena's oldest and best friends, knew about her on and off Vampire boyfriend's ex-looking exactly like her, from head to toe.

Staying silent was one of the biggest mistakes she's made so far because, unfortunately, she'd forgotten that the twins had thoroughly explained everything they knew about Seers and even when panicking Elena caught onto Nova's uncharacteristic silence. The conversation had gone a lot like how when Elena had figured out about Vampires; Nova had reluctantly confirmed her suspicions while trying to ignore the eyes on her.

There had been a tense silence on all ends before Elena suddenly ended the call.

They had tried calling back multiple times, but after almost an hour of Elena no doubt, purposely dodging their calls, Caroline had decided to look for her just so they could be reassured she was alive. Damon had stayed suspiciously quiet during the whole debacle, only sending her indiscernible looks every now and then.

Bonnie despite her worry for their best friend was exhausted and eventually had been lulled to sleep by the quiet that washed over the car after the tense phone call.

Nova, however, more than ever, could not fall asleep even though she felt exhausted. Instead, she watched the night sky through the passenger window, her mind keeping her wide awake as usual.

"You can go to sleep, you know? I'm not going to crash into anything out here," Damon told her suddenly, drawing her attention as he briefly waved out at the nearly completely deserted road that was leading them to their destination in emphasis.

Bonnie slept on peacefully in the back, not even twitching at the sound of their voices, she'd gotten their Grams' sleeping habits; meaning it would take them actually crashing for Bonnie to wake up.

"You were suspiciously quiet during that phone call. We didn't even get a callous quip out of you during the whole thing." Nova changed the subject with no subtly, but she didn't want to talk about her shit sleeping habits, so she abandoned subtly for answers.

"I figured out from the moment I met you that you knew more about me than you were letting on. As long as you keep your end of the deal and help me get Katherine, I don't care." Damon responded without taking his eyes off the road, his words were said indifferently but it was also warning for if she'd thought about breaking the deal.

"Of course. I try to always keep my promises," it was the only reply she could find, they exchanged glances before the car grew quiet again, and the only thing heard was the sound of the quiet humming of the vehicle. She could only fall asleep when Caroline texted her almost an hour later, informing her that she'd found Elena. The worry didn't go away completely as she could still sense bad vibes.

But the text calmed her enough for her to slip into a dreamless sleep, she only woke up briefly when she absently noticed Damon stopping at a gas station before falling back asleep.

 

* * *

 

 

They arrived at Bree's Bar in the early afternoon, and ignoring Damon's half-hearted calls for them to slow down, the twins hurried out the car and towards the entrance, the Vampire not far behind them.

Nova's bladder was about to implode, despite getting enough hours of sleep she still felt exhausted and her neck felt like she had slept leaning on a car window - _oh, wait,_ she had.

Despite the twins walking in first, the gorgeous bartender and assumed owner only noticed Damon when he strolled in behind them, his patent smirk in place when he caught the older woman's eyes.

"No. No, it can't be. _Damon_?!" Bree said with a smile, she stopped cleaning the bar, sighing she skillfully slid to the other side, revealing long legs that even Bonnie couldn't help but stare at in awe.

"My honey pie." She declared before she walked closer to eat his face - no, seriously - there was no polite way to put this - they just kept making out and making noises that'd be more appropriate in a porno.

'Wow,' Nova mouthed towards her blushing sister, who shrugged helplessly, shifting in place awkwardly. Neither twin wanted to watch - Nova might be sort of a perv but she's not much of a voyeur - but they couldn't, they stood still, watching in a sort of horrified fascination.

"Nova!?"

The twins turned around in unison, sighing in relief, they turned their back towards the couple still eating each other's faces and turned their attention to the person who'd called out for the eldest twin.

"Lexi! Oh thank fuck, I thought I'd be able never to look away," Nova said in relief as they shared a brief hug. Lexi was confused for a moment until she looked behind, she frowned and her face twisted in disgust at the sight. "Ugh, get a room. Or better yet Salvatore, paws off her ass, this is a bar, not a brothel."

They slowed down their mouth mating ritual but it looked like it'd take way too long for them to fully pull apart.

"Where's the bathroom?" Bonnie asked suddenly, pulling their returned attention back to more important matters, their blatters.

"Oh, follow me." And so the girls followed Lexi - past the bathroom and into a door that had several locks on it.

They hesitantly followed Lexi down the steps, exchanging dubious looks on the way. Nova idly and humorously questioned to herself if they were going to die because this seemed to be a cliche beginning to a horror story. Well, at least her killer would be giving her an excellent view before death, she mused, staring at Lexi with a small smile on her face that only widened at the scolding elbow nudge her sister gave her as they arrived in the basement.

They looked around the moderately sized basement in interest; the place was crowded with crates of what the twins assumed were filled with alcohol but right in the center of the basement was what appeared to be a makeshift living room with a grey faux-fur rug underneath a round wooden coffee table and a leather pull out couch that looked like it'd seen better days - in the 70's - and as they walked further they could see the telltale signs of a Witch living here.

Meaning, a lot of candles thrown around the room, a whole bucket of incense, a variety of real crystals hangings from wooden ceiling beams, dry herbs on nearly every surface and old books - a lot of old books.

Lexi led them past the very much lived in space and revealed a door that'd been hidden behind a large empty crate. "Oh, you're here... I thought we were going to go to them?" Vicki looked as startled to see the twins as they were to see her as she exited the bathroom.

"Well, we were in the neighborhood," Nova joked lamely, ignoring the curious look Lexi was suddenly giving her.

Nova let her twin use the bathroom first, waving away Bonnie's concern at leaving her alone with two Vampires, her twin reluctantly went into the bathroom when saw her sister's usual relaxed nature. The three of them settled down on the leather couch once Lexi folded the bed back into a couch - which felt more comfortable than it looked, especially with the colorful throw pillows.

There was an awkward silence for about five seconds before Lexi broke it, playfully smacking Vicki's arm in a silent scolding, "Vicki had something to tell you, go on, tell her."

"I'm, um... I'm sorry for trying to kill you, twice."

Despite how long it took for Vicki to say those words, she did seem genuinely sorry, and while the apology wouldn't ever make the girls best friends forever, it was an apology she didn't expect to get. It made Nova question what the hell did the elder Vampire do to the younger Vampire for her to actually sound and look less murderous and more... functional.

"Lexi told me if it wasn't for you... I'd probably be dead-dead, not just undead. So, sorry, and thanks." Vicki continued awkwardly, going silent again, she sunk into the couch more when Lexi patted her shoulder with a pleased smile.

"It's fine - well, as long you don't do it again we're fine. I don't have much of a kink for choking, that shit burns more than alcohol," Nova accepted the apology and made a dirty joke out of her pain, it was a terrible coping mechanism. "Anyway, I spelled this on our way over. Don't go too wild."

Vicki sent her an incredulous look as she caught the daylight ring Nova had thrown at her casually.

Nova trusts Lexi's judgment when it comes to rehabilitating fucked up Vampires, the only one she could remember ever resisting the blonde's charm was Damon, who had been too caught up in the past to see what he could have had with Lexi - _idiot._

"What are you waiting for? You've been complaining about not feeling the sun on your skin for days." Lexi stated with a grin as they watched her speed out the room in the blink of an eye.

Lexi looked like she was going to ask something, but didn't get the chance because when Bonnie walked out the bathroom door, Nova all but raced into the unoccupied bathroom; mostly because she wanted to pee, but also, while she might have a small crush on Lexi, she didn't want to be psychoanalyzed, no matter how well-meaning it may be.

 

* * *

 

 

Nova was the no doubt about it, the fashionista of the group with Caroline just seconds behind her. So when she saw the shower in the cubicle like bathroom she nearly moaned at the thought of changing her clothes even if it was just the gym clothes she'd left in her trunk.

When she asked Lexi about the odds of Bree letting her use the shower, the blonde explained that this was more of a place for all of Bree's less than human friends to crash than her home, and even added;

"Oh! And if you need clothes, I've got some that just might fit you in one of my suitcases." Lexi spoke absently, pausing in her speedy texting, she waved her hand at the shit ton of luggage piled near the rusty steel staircase that led up to the bar.

Nova nearly drooled when she unzipped the first suitcase, it was filled with a variety of shoes - various types, sizes, colors -, the next one she unzipped was filled with dresses that looked like they'd come from nearly every era - okay, maybe not _every_ era, but there was definitely some stuff that wasn't from this century. She had to calm herself down before she picked out an outfit that would fit her; she went for a burgundy velvet crop top that was little small but would have to do, and since the jeans either didn't fit on her hips or the legs of them were too long - she had to settle for the mini shorts that still had tags on them and paired it with the stockings she was already wearing and some black thigh high lace-up boots.

Once her outfit was chosen she got into the tiny shower, pulling her hair over her shoulder before letting the slowly warming water hit her back.

She let her thoughts wander to what had happened minutes before they'd parked; she had gently shaken Bonnie awake, only to watch in concern as her sister flinched awake, tears in her green eyes. It took mere seconds for her to connect the dots; Bonnie obviously had a nightmare, more than likely about what she'd seen in the warehouse.

She wants nothing more to talk to her sister about it, to comfort her, somehow. But she would have to wait until they got home to talk about it, she knew that Bonnie wouldn't want anyone not family or friends to see her that vulnerable, it was one the many things they had in common. Nova sighed at her thoughts as she got out of the shower and dressed quickly as she could - it felt weird, wearing someone else's clothes, but it all mostly fit. She laced the black thigh high boots before pulling her hair away from her face in one big plait.

Nova gave herself a bright and clearly false smile in the mirror, she kept it up for a while but eventually rolled her eyes with a scoff, dropping the fake smile, she exited the bathroom.

Bonnie relented to her sister's insistence prods, and after getting reassurance from Lexi, she found something to wear for herself and took a shower. Once the twins were dressed, all three women hesitantly went back up the stairs, all hoping that Damon hadn't somehow managed to convince everyone at the bar into an orgy.

 

* * *

 

 

There was no orgy. Nova's not sure if she's disappointed or relieved by that fact, it was honestly a toss-up, like everything else in her life. They got there just in time to hear the end of Bree's little speech; "Here's to the man that broke my heart, crushed my soul, destroyed my life, and ruined any and all chances of happiness!"

Lexi, after sighing at her friend's toast, excused herself to go find Vicki whilst the twins shared a look, sliding on barstools next to the man in question. The look basically said; _'Damn...',_ they didn't know how the older woman managed to sound so fucking cheerful while delivering a speech of a scorned lover.

"So, how'd he rope you two in?" Bree questioned the twins, after downing a shot like a pro, she started pouring them both shots.

"Me, and Damon? God, no." Bonnie denied with a vehement shake of her head after surprisingly taking the shot of vodka. Bonnie can hold her alcohol with the best of them but she's not much of a day drinker, like at all. Nova tried to cover up her worried frown by pressing the glass to her mouth, she downed the shot of vodka without pause.

"Ouch, so quick to deny our love affair, Bonnie? That hurts my feelings,"

"You have feelings?" The twins asked in unison, the youngest disbelieving, the eldest teasing, they both snorted at the mock hurt that showed on Damon's face.

"What about you, honey? Are you roped or are you whipped?" Bree asked the eldest twin with a smile, refilling her shot glass when gestured.

"Mm... I prefer to do the roping," Nova responded, smirking at the unintentional innuendo she had made. Nova ignored her sister's exasperation - _honestly,_ she should be used to her perverted comments by now - she easily swallowed down the vodka before she continued speaking, "So, how did you two meet?"

"College,"

"You went to college?" Bonnie questioned, an incredulous smile in place, she slid her own refilled shot towards her twin, it reassured Nova that she at least hadn't completely fucked up her own sister.

"I've been on a college campus, yes," Damon answered vaguely, grinning wickedly when they both scoffed, _'Of course'_. He reached over to steal the shot from Nova's fingertips, ignoring the glare she sent his way.

"About twenty years ago, when I was a sweet, young freshman, I met this beautiful man, and I fell in love," Bree started explaining with a smirk, moving closer to them as she wiped the bar off with a rag. "And then he told me about his little secret, made me love him more. Because - you see, I had a little secret of my own that I was dying to share with somebody."

Nova leaned on the bar counter, bumping shoulders with Damon and Bonnie in the process before she declared with a grin, "You're a witch,"

Bree looked towards Damon in question, probably silently asking if he'd already told them. "Oh, right. How forgetful of me, I never formally introduced you, Bennett twins meet Bree. Bree, meet the Bennett twins. Watch out for them, she's a Seer and this one is a bit of a pyro." Damon introducing them cleared the confusion from Bree's face, her brown eyes took them in with interest.

Nova rolled her eyes, she definitely wasn't pouting - okay, maybe a little, but she would never admit it if asked. It was only because she didn't get to introduce herself. Half the fun when meeting other Supernatural species is watching the recognition on their faces when she tells them her last name; Bennett Witches were probably the closest thing to royalty as Witches could get.

"We're both pyromaniacs," Nova corrected with no shame, getting amused looks all around.

"Huh, I've never met a Bennett witch before. Nice to meet you both. Now, what is it you want, Damon?" Bree gave them a smile before she turned towards the Vampire with a no-nonsense look on her face. She was no doubt used to being charmed and used by none other than Damon Salvatore.

Nova was saved from having to explain the whole, 'I have a way to open the Tomb without the talisman', by Lexi stealing the twins away to the other side of the bar, no doubt sensing the need for the ex-lovers privacy. "So, how's my best friend?" Lexi wasted no time asking, keeping her eyes on Damon and Bree, more than likely listening in on their conversation.

"Uh..." The twins shared a grimace at the question, their shared hesitance made the blonde Vampire focus her concerned eyes on them.

"What happened?"

"Well... Elena found out she looks like his - and Damon's - ex-girlfriend," Bonnie replied with a sigh, frowning, she checked her phone for what had to be the fifth time in under a minute. Not that Nova can blame her, she'll probably end up doing the same when her phone finished charging.

"After sleeping with him. So, it's probably not going too well for him right about now," Nova added to her sister's explanation with a sarcastic smile, playing with the zipper of the leather jacket she'd found in what she's calling 'Lexi's Outlet'.

"It's always about Katherine Peirce," Lexi complained with a frown, she then slid up on the bar, hopping down on the other side with ease. She grabbed two bottles from underneath the bar, looking at the alcohol in contemplation before tilting it towards them in question. "I swear, that bitch always has a way of ruining Stefan's life without even being there. Vodka or Tequila?"

The twins snorted in unison at the question because, of course, as always; "Vodka," Nova replies for them both, her stomach reminded her that she was starving - hours on the road with only candy you found in your glove compartment will do that to you, so she leaned over to grab a menu and started looking over options with Bonnie.

Damon joined them soon, apparently done with his lover's spat, he ignored the glares he was getting from both Bonnie and Lexi - he had to be a seasoned pro at ignoring glares by now - and settled in on the bar stool next to Nova, deftly snatching the menu from her fingers. "I already ordered for the both of you," he explained while giving Lexi a charming smile, making her scoff and turn back to mixing their drinks.

"Thank you, Damon. I always wanted someone to order food for me like an infant," Nova responded dully, gifting him with her best sarcastic smile, which turned more real at Lexi and Bonnie's snorts of amusement.

The four of them settled in with food and drinks, talking surprisingly civilly despite the fact almost everyone in this bar wants to either fuck or kill - or both - Damon, the absolute man whore, she thought with an odd mix of ire and amusement. "But why does Elena looks like Katherine? I mean - they have to be related, closely related." Bonnie told them, frowning when Nova stopped her from checking her phone, again.

Although it was worrying that they hadn't gotten a text since the last one, hours ago, obsessing over it wouldn't help - she would know, she's great at obsessing over things that are out of her hands, it never helps.

"Katherine got around - a lot. Never met her, but I've heard enough about her from a lot of people she fucked over. She probably got herself knocked up before she turned," Lexi replied, ignoring the mild glare she got from Damon for the not so hidden insult towards his 'eternal love', she instead sipped on her vodka cocktail.

"But, the resemblance is uncanny. Closely related or not, they shouldn't look that much alike," Damon commented, stealing Nova's fries despite how many he had on his own plate, she allowed the theft with a small sigh, having given up on slapping his hand away from her plate on the third fry, stupid Vampire speed.

"...Exactly how uncanny?" Bonnie questioned hesitantly, pausing in taking a bite out of her burger, she moved her eyes between all three of them when no one answered for a long moment.

"Let's just say that Katherine and Elena look more like twins than we do," Nova replied bluntly, shocking her twin sister, she took a bite out of her burger.

 

* * *

 

 

Once the sun went down, the twins had to start dodging calls from their dad, only texting him to reassure him they weren't dead in a ditch somewhere - they weren't that cruel and irresponsible. They busied themselves by drinking with little regard to their bladders. Nova's had to pee four times since they started drinking.

Currently, the ones brave enough went against the twins with a little drinking contest to see how many vodka shots they could down all in one go. "Alright, ready? ...Go!" Bree announced and the first ones to finish their round of shots were Lexi and the twins, and Damon, although close behind them, missed the memo of alcohol supposed to go in his mouth and not his chin.

"Aw..does the baby need a bib?" Nova teased with a grin, leaning on the bar, she watched her sister out of the corner of her eye, making sure she made her way safely through the crowd and towards the bathroom. "Sorry, I can't unhinge my jaw like a snake to consume alcohol," Damon replied sardonically, wiping the alcohol from his chin.

"Well, I am a Slytherin," Nova proclaimed with a grin, a little tipsy but not drunk whatsoever.

"Nerd,"

"And proud of it," Nova replied without a beat, she turned from the Vampire to wave her fingers at Bree with a flirty smile, "How about another round, gorgeous?"

"Honey, you should be on the floor!" A woman exclaimed from the other side of the bar, making her snort in amusement.

"I'm just getting starting!"

She wanted to have fun and forget her responsibilities for one night. But, despite the many drinks she's had, she's had a lot of water and food in between to keep herself from getting too drunk. Someone has to sober enough to look after Bonnie, who was going all in with the number of drinks she's had in the past hour, she tried not to worry, but worrying and caring about Bonnie was as easy as breathing; instinctual and something she never wants to stop doing.

Somehow, don't ask either of them how, but Lexi and Nova ended up standing on top of the bar, doing a weird dance that was more of a swaying bear hug while they sang along to 'Born To Be Wild', it had been turned up by Bree at Nova's request;

"Get your motor runnin'!" Nova started enthusiastically, the words coming out in time with the music despite her excitement.

"Head out on the highway!" Lexi picked off with a grin, affectionally squeezing her shoulder as they attracted an amused and equally tipsy people to their little 'concert'.

"And lookin' for adventure, and whatever comes our way!" They sang together, and not didn't sing particularly well, it wasn't terrible, but no one would be buying their album anytime soon - or ever.

When the song was over, and as everyone clapped, all Nova could think was that she might be a little less sober than she'd originally thought because she blurted out, "Marry me,", much to the blonde's amusement.

"Should I be concerned?" A male's voice said from below - and wow, she's glad she's wearing shorts because she's currently not wearing anything underneath this leather. What? She had felt too weird wearing someone else's panties, the only person she's done that with was with her best friends, but when it comes to the four of them, words like privacy or boundaries, don't exist much, or at all.

"Lee!" Lexi greeted with an enthusiastic smile aimed down at the man who'd appeared - she would have probably gotten down from the bar to give him a proper greeting to one's lover, but Nova was feeling super clingy right now - who was also apparently her boyfriend.

"You could join us. We could all elope. Honeymoon in Paris?" Nova asked jokingly, flirty grin in place. She finally let go of Lexi so they could get down before they break their necks - because only Lexi would come back from that.

"Lee this is Nova. Nova this is Lee," Lexi introduced them after giving Lee a big hug and a loving look that made Nova advert her eyes for a moment. "The one who gave us ...?" Lee cut himself off when a pair of drunk women passed by.

"The one and the only," Nova replied to his interrupted question with a nonchalant shrug, she had managed to get her butt down on the bar but couldn't convince herself to jump down the rest of the admittedly, small height, but with alcohol running through her system and not to mention the high heeled boots she was wearing she might just end up faceplanting on the very unsanitary looking floor.

Her thoughts were cut off by Lee unexpectedly gave her a hug - it was surprising because he didn't look like the kind of person to give random hugs to strangers, "Thank you," Lee said after he let her go.

"Uh...no problem," Nova waved it off, though she was startled, she tried not to let it show. After sending them one more grin, she made excuses so they could have a moment to themselves.

Nova, despite her friend's teasings, likes doing things for the people that are precious to her. It's simple, If she cares about you, she'll go to extreme lengths to make you happy, she'll sometimes even do it without even being asked. But most of the time, you forget to thank the person who always helps you; it doesn't bother her, considering even she's guilty of doing it - but it was nice, being thanked for something so genuinely, even though she would do it again without blinking.

Nova was surprised to see Vicki manning the bar instead of Bree, but she quickly recovered from her minor shock to order another cocktail. "...Why don't you like me?" Vicki asked randomly, at least to Nova, she had a hard time swallowing down the free peanuts she had busied herself with snacking on, mostly to _avoid_ talking.

"Why don't you like me?" Nova threw the words back with a raised brow, she leaned closer on the bar to be heard over the noise of the bars other occupants. She's not bothered by people not liking her, that's more of an Elena thing to be worried about. But she is curious if there _is_ a reason for Vicki's bitchitude around her, she knows sometimes there isn't a real reason for people not to liking each other, some people just don't click.

"Everyone back home loves you and your friends, the four of you could do no wrong. I could barely go a day without hearing just how perfect you guys are. " Vicki replied after pausing a moment in making the vodka cocktail, sounding more bitter than Nova excepted her to be, though she scoffed at the words.

"Perfect? Come on - I mean, we are fucking awesome. I can acknowledge that -" Vicki rolled her eyes at that, handing her the vodka cocktail Nova's knows she's going to need to continue this conversation, "But we're not perfect. And everyone at home doesn't love us," she could see the skeptical look that was aimed at her and so she explained with a frown, equally bitter as Vicki's.

"Most people think Caroline's a stuck a bitch that talks too much. Elena is, apparently, a cliche goody two shoes with no personality. My sister, Bonnie, is, according to half the school, a boring prude with little sex appeal because she doesn't flash her tits at the first guy to smile at her. And me? I don't come from a fancy founding family, nor am I straight, or white. So no, we aren't perfect in the eyes of Mystic fucking Falls."

Vicki looked like someone had just slapped her - with a fish, or the truth, whatever. Nova prefers the comic relief of the fish, that little speech drained any warmth she had got from the moment she had with Lexi and Lee earlier.

When the elder teen couldn't formulate a response, the younger teen rolled her eyes and got up to leave, taking the drink and the entire bowl peanuts with her, "I called Matt," Vicki blurted out before she could leave to find Bonnie - or Damon, or anyone not looking to talk about things she had wanted to get away from.

When Vicki saw she wasn't running away from the conversation, she whispered so she wouldn't be heard by the humans in the dark that crowded the bar. She started explaining what had happened when the unconscious noob Vampire woke up in the back seat of Lexi's car. It amused Nova, how Vicki tried to attack Lexi while the elder Vampire was driving and Lexi still managed to kick her ass and then give her the worst dressing down she's gotten.

"Lexi really helped me with the cravings, it took less time than I thought it would. And once I could go out at night without attacking anyone, Lexi thought it'd be good to get a cover story for my family and friends back at home."

Nova had hesitantly sat back down during this story, all of the peanuts were eaten and the shells were carelessly scattered around the bar. She had seen Bonnie talking - arguing - with Damon out of the corner of her a couple times during the duration of the story but she wasn't worried, Nature would protect her from Damon's wrath if Bonnie herself couldn't, which was unlikely.

According to Vicki, she had been allowed to call Matt around the same time Lexi had called Nova to tell her about the younger Vampire's progress. They'd both decided to tell only Matt the story, which was that Vicki had gotten scared shitless by a bad trip and checked herself into rehab.

"For what's it's worth, I'm happy that you're not homicidal anymore," Nova said flippantly as she got up, actually getting a laugh from Vicki before she walked away.

Nova found Lee and Lexi after her checking on a thoroughly drunk Bonnie - but, and this might sound crazy, she could swear Lexi was trying to get her drunk with the number of drinks she kept having Lee go get for them, not that she was complaining. After another one of these refills, Lexi eyed her for a moment before speaking. "So, why did you come all this way?" Lexi bluntly asked, leaning her arms on the bar table that was littered with empty glasses.

Nova was going to joke to deflect the question, but paused at the serious look in Lexi's eyes, "I just have so much going on. And... I feel like everything keeps piling up to the point I could barely breathe," Nova was, ironically, compelled to tell the elder Vampire the truth, so she did - though not without eyeing the blonde suspiciously - the blonde had definitely gotten her drunk so she'd open up more. It was devious, also kind of hot, she thought absently while thinking about the shit going on in her life.

The Supernatural drama hadn't even completely started yet and she was feeling pressured; she was learning too many languages to count, she was trying to keep up with school work on top of learning witchcraft under her father's disapproving nose. She's safeguarding universe altering information, and while she knows for certain that Elena loves all of them like sisters, the girl wasn't one to like secrets being withheld from her and was no doubt pissed at her right now. Then, she had to deal with Damon - who had way more than ninety-nine problems - and let's not forget that she took it upon herself to take care of so many people, people who might, you know, _die_ if she isn't careful.

And while she mostly puts herself first in this life, she'd only be fooling herself if she thought she'd completely shedded her selfless ways.

"And so you ran," Lexi concluded, a sad understanding smile in place.

"And so I ran," Nova only got the repeat the words before she was dragged away by a fuming Damon, she waved off Lexi, who had gotten up, no doubt prepared to fight him, which was sweet, but not needed. "It's fine, Lexi, I need to talk to him anyway." Lexi reluctantly sat back down with a frown, watching with narrowed eyes as Damon continued to drag her out the side entrance of the bar.

"What?" Nova snapped at him after a moment of just watching him silently pace in front of her, she had tried to zip the leather jacket up but her fingers fumbled for a moment too long until she had given up and just wrapped her arms around her - winter was on its way and Georgia heat or not, there was a chill in the air at night.

"You're very drunk sister told me about the Grimoire," Damon turned towards her, his facial expression was eerily blank.

"Oh," Nova responded, very eloquently, suddenly wishing she was at least a little sober for this conversation and _wow, thanks, Bonnie,_ she thought with a frown.

"Yeah, 'oh' is right," Damon bit out, still staring at her with his intense blue eyes, he continued mockingly, "What? Nothing else to say?"

She felt irritated at his tone but tried to stay calm in face of his ire, "I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry I kept it from you, but it never felt like the right time. I was going to tell you today," Nova replied, pulling her hands from where she'd been holding the jacket closed, she was suddenly wary and wanting her hands free if she had to use her Magic against him.

"Why don't I believe that?" Damon scoffed, rolling his eyes, his body was taut as he tried to keep his anger under control, it didn't seem to be working.

He had a right to scoff at her words if only because she's not sure if she would have told him, "Look - someone stole the talisman, we were more than likely being stalked for fuck's sake. And I had to learn the spell to open the tomb and... dispose of the rest of vampires, safely." Nova rambled, breaking her calm in the desperation for him to just understand where she's coming from.

She's so used to understanding - or at least _trying_ to understand people's motives before she judges them that she forgets that not everyone thinks like she does.

"Why?" Damon questioned suddenly, catching her off guard with his question, he sighed in frustration when she just looked at him with a confused look in her brown eyes.

Nova warily watched him as he came closer to her until he was barely a foot away from her, "Bonnie said you were obsessing over the tomb spell, she was worried about you, that's how I found out. So, what are you so concerned about? Know anything we don't?" Damon continued bitterly, he didn't even blink as he watched her reaction.

"Nothing, I just don't want a bunch of hungry vengeful vampires in my town. One is quite enough, thank you," Nova tried to wave it off, only for him to snatch her hand and pull her closer - the move reminded her of the one he had made the night they'd made the deal; seductive as much as it was dangerous.

"Let's try that again,"

She had to remind herself that Damon probably wouldn't care if Nature killed them both tonight - because if she had ruined his chances of getting Katherine back, the only thing that would sate his anger and sadness would be her death. "I had a vision that my Grams would die from opening the tomb," Nova confessed quietly, feeling vulnerable from just the thought of it.

"...And I should care why?" Damon asked callously, sounding genuinely _curious_ , it made her have to swallow down several angry retorts. And, if she'd been sober she would have been able to deal with this as an adult - or at least calmy and rationally, but as always, alcohol made her overemotional, and so the only emotion she could feel at the moment was pure, hot, anger, it felt like a volcano erupted inside her very soul.

" _You_ don't have to! But _I'm_ not letting her nor Bonnie get killed, especially over this," Nova replied harshly, poking him harshly with her finger. Her anger sobering her up better than the cold air that whipped her hair around her face.

"And I'm not going to let Katherine stay in the tomb for another hundred years because you got cold feet over something that might not even happen!" Damon yelled back, she didn't flinch at his anger or at his eyes briefly flashing crimson, too blinded by her own anger to be scared at his own anger.

She's not even in the fucking Tomb you big fucking asshole, she wanted to yell those words, but didn't, instead she laughed mockingly - if he got to be an asshole you can bet everything you own that she'll be a bitch to him in response, "Oh, boohoo, I'm Damon Salvatore and I can't live without the cruel bitch who strung me and my brother along, ruining any chances of having a normal relationship with my brother - or anyone else!" Nova mocked him, glaring when he took her other hand, keeping her from poking him again.

"Big talk for someone just as fucked up as I am - You can barely hold a conversation without lying!"

Unknowingly, her Magic was reacting to in tandem with her anger, causing the winds as sharp as their words, a light bulb that hung in the outdoor light next to the door shattered in the face of the harsh winds. And in response to her Magic, Damon's eyes stayed crimson and his fangs showed as they tore each other apart with vicious words that they'd held back for the sake of whatever parody of a friendship they had - it hurt more than she'd like to admit at the thought that she might not have his friendship after this, but she hid it behind her anger.

"Yes, I am very fucked up and I do lie, I freely admit this - but at least I don't lie to myself like you love to do!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

Nova's scathing answer was cut off from a door slamming and a yell, "Guys!" Bonnie repeated this when they didn't stop glaring at each other, she flinched a little when both of them turned their heads towards her and a wary and concerned Lexi.

"What?!" They yelled in unison, sparing each other another glare before they turned back to Bonnie, who gestured towards their hands in annoyance.

Both Damon and Nova turned their attention towards where Bonnie was gesturing, he had her wrists in a tight grip and her palms were resting on his chest, but that wasn't what was worrying. No, it was the sickly grey tinge that covered both of their hands. It was only now slowly receding. Nova snatched her hands back, and he let her, too busy observing his own hands, looking at them in pure shock.

Apparently, they were so close to killing each other that Nature thought they needed to be scolded and, of course, Nature's way of scolded her children happened to be the threat of death for almost breaking their deal. Nova gasped as she felt a pressure she hadn't noticed before that slowly started fading from her pounding heart.

"Listen - that," Bonnie spoke up, her voice wavering, she looked near to tears as she gestured towards their hands, "Is not important, not right now. Nova - Grams just called, we've got to get home, right now."

Any anger leftover from the argument slowed in the face of concern for her sister. Nova hurriedly walked up the stairs that led to the small back porch, and when she took a hold of her twin's hand, all of her anger dissolved as abruptly as it had come when she could practically feel Bonnie's anxiousness, "What happened?" Nova forced herself to ask despite dreading the answer.

"It's - it's Elena and Caroline - Grams says they've been _missing_ for as long as we have."


	19. Angst is near, I can feel it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we find out Nova (almost) broods as much as Stefan, the twins exchange a number of looks that no one knows how to interpret and family drama is bullshit.

According to Grams, and the six voicemails she left on Nova's phone, Stefan had tried to find Elena when she ran off post-coitus and when he couldn't find her, he tried finding her friends that are usually attached to her hip, but instead, he found Grams.

Grams had done a locator spell using her own blood when they didn't answer their phones, figuring that all of them were getting into trouble, together. You know, the usual.

It was only now that they'd found out that wasn't the case.

Bonnie had been making her way out the bathroom when Nova's newly charged phone had started ringing, and with clumsy fingers, she had answered the phone.

At Bonnie's panicked insistence, the elder Witch had tried another locator spell, this time on the potentially kidnapped girls. There was only a small blessing in the fact that Caroline had an old brush that somehow ended up underneath Bonnie's bed and Elena had a jean jacket that Nova had stolen years ago and promptly shoved into her closet at Grams' house.

Grams had tried, _twice_ , on each item, but nothing happened.

Not a lighting fast image they had to decipher, not even the blank space of doom that is usually Nature's polite way of saying; _ 'The person you're trying to find is more than likely dead, sorry for any inconvenience.'_

Meaning, _something_ or _someone_ was blocking Sheila Bennett from doing a locator spell.

Needless to say, the three of them didn't waste time getting back on the road.

To say Nova wasn't taking her friends kidnapping very well would be an understatement. After Bonnie told them the bad news, she had basically zombie walked to her car, only aware enough of her surroundings to get in the backseat with Bonnie instead of the front because she knew that if she sat next to Damon she'd end up taking her anger out on him and they'd end up arguing, again; she'd rather save her rage for the person who kidnapped her best friends.

Lexi was understanding and concerned. She waved Bonnie off when the teen offered to give the clothes back, explaining nonchalantly that she had warehouses of clothes from every century she'd lived in and didn't mind loaning them the clothes. Nova, despite her love of clothes and everything Lexi, could only spare a lackluster hug and a promise to call before she got into her car.

Nova was mostly quiet as she started brooding and plotting, but mostly plotting. If only because the brooding was mostly her blaming herself for being stupid enough to leave town, and blaming herself would help no one, least of all her sanity, or at least what was left of it.

She needed someone to keep her from doing anything stupid until they got back home. Though, once they got home, all bets were off on whether anyone would be able to keep her from doing something stupidly violent. Thankfully, Bonnie was the second best person to keep her grounded at the moment.

Second best, because her sister was far from emotionally stable herself with how she alternated between tears and angry retorts at Damon.

Bonnie was also far from sober, it showed when barely fifteen minutes after they'd said their goodbyes Damon was forced to stop on the nearly empty road so she could vomit. Apparently getting carsick while intoxicated was terrible for the stomach.

But it had at least gotten Nova to snap out of her zombie-like state, if only for a brief moment to get out the car and hold Bonnie's long hair out of her face while humming in reassurance that masked her disbelief when the teen cried out that she would never drink again; it was something everyone who'd been hungover had said at some point, only to once again down vodka shots on the weekend.

Once that mildly dramatic segment from Bonnie Sheila Bennett was done, they got back on the road.

Nova didn't know how she fell asleep, one minute she'd been calmly going through all the ways to cause someone the most excruciating pain possible - with and without the use of Magic, emotionally and physically - and then the next minute she found herself dozing off on Bonnie's shoulder, who had fallen into a restless sleep hours before her.

Nova's first thought when she noticed her surroundings in her dream was, _'What the fuck'._ Her dreaming about weird shit was a regularly occurring thing, but on stressful nights like this, it's usually just her recurring nightmare, in her old burning apartment.

Instead, she was in what mildly resembled Mystic Falls' forest.

Mildly, because despite the vague resemblance, everything from the ground to the sky was twisted in her wild imagination. The grass she was standing on looked charcoal black and the leaves of the trees were such a vivid shade of red it looked as though they were burning, and maybe they were considering her brains odd fascination with fire.

She tilted her head up curiously, only to gape in disbelief at the really unrealistically beautiful starry sky; planets that were normally far enough to need a telescope were close enough to almost crowd around the moon, and the stars were bright enough to substitute the sun, but that was shining right next to the moon.

It all looked like something out of a Doctor Who episode. Honestly, it probably had come out of a Doctor Who episode.

Nova's used to weird dreams, but this probably took the cake - and not just any cake, but the _chocolate cake_ \- because not only did her mind manage to conjure up Bizarro's version of Mystic Falls, but she herself, felt odd. She could barely control her thoughts in the waking, let alone control what she did in her dreams, but whatever this place was, - she was hesitant to call it just a dream, it didn't feel like it - she felt in control of her limbs more than she usually was while dreaming.

Nova concluded this must be a lucid dream as she looked around the area in wary confusion. She started walking purposely towards what looked to be a small line in the otherwise empty landscape.

It took a few minutes to walk towards it, but whatever she ended up looking down incredulously into was not a line at all, but a small crack in the earth, no, a fucking ravine. Though the longer she looked at it the more it felt like a fucking black hole, getting ready to swallow her soul or some other poetically fucked up shit.

Nova rather stupidly, in her own opinion, felt the urge to get to the other side of the ravine.

It seemed to be just as weird as the side she was currently standing on, with the trees moving as though they had a mind of its own and the autumn leaves falling off the trees seemed to, no shit, sparkle as they floated in the air instead of falling down to the overgrown green grass.

Nova decided to follow that urge to cross to the other side of the ravine when she saw that the ravine seemed to go on endlessly and despite her interest in the forest behind her, with its endless red trees, something was calling to her to cross it. Nova's Magic was easing her unease, it was probably the one urging her feet closer to the other side.

She still felt wary of the fucking abyss in front of her, but her brain didn't seem to want to change the scenery. So, she sucked it up and with a shrug thought, why the fuck not. She took a few steps back, and then began to regret her decision when she started running across the obsidian grass with a battle cry she just _might_ have copied from her favorite warrior princess, she leaped over the ravine with all the grace of the cheerleader she happened to be.

Some small part of her that still couldn't place all of her faith in anything - not even in the Magic that had been there for her in this life as long as Bonnie had - thought she was going to fall and actually die in her dreams, 'cause that'd be just her fucking luck.

But, thankfully, she didn't die. She landed on the unusually green grass with a tumble that she couldn't feel; the fact she couldn't feel any pain reassured her that she was dreaming despite how she felt.

"Nova?"

"Bonnie?"

Nova found herself not alone as she'd thought as her sister tackled her into a sudden hug that she really shouldn't have felt, but her sister felt _solid_ and _real_ under her fingertips. "I've been wandering around for what feels like been hours, but nothing's happened. I was going to cross over and try my luck with the red trees when I saw you leaping across with a Xena yell." Bonnie admitted with an amused smile despite the worry shining through her green eyes.

There was no doubt worry over where they were and if they would be able to wake up so they could save their friends, and then there was the actual worry for their friends. Because this dream, scenery aside, wasn't normal - they had never been able to unconsciously invade each other's dreams like this.

They started walking in a direction that their Magic started, unknowingly on their part, guiding their feet to. They kept their hands clasped in a tight grip to reassure themselves that the other was actually there and not an actual figment of each others imagination.

"You were probably here longer than me because you fell asleep first. Any idea where we are... and where the hell the exit is?" Nova added waving her free hand at the unusual scenery; she was impatient to wake up so she could continue to seethe and plot.

Nova sighed when her sister shook her head, confirming what she had already guessed. "I mean, we have to wake up eventually... right?" Bonnie questioned her sister, an odd mix of confident and uncertain.

"You will wake, eventually," a vaguely familiar voice interrupted whatever reassurance Nova had been about to give her sister.

The Bennett twins exchanged a startled look before they turned their heads in unison to the where the voice had come from, except there was no one within sight.

Magic continued to lure them to the person who spoke, so the twins hesitantly moved through the floating leaves and brightly colored bushes, and towards the voice that came from the forest that seemed never-ending. "I apologize for all the obscurity," the voice continued to speak calmly even when the twins yelped as they slipped down what was apparently the end of a hill.

Eventually, they slid to a stop at the foot of a river, their hands still miraculously clasped. "But this was the only way I could contact you," the twins looked up when a hand was offered to both of them. They each took a hand offered without hesitation, and when the twins stood up and came face to face with the person who had led them there - well, to put it bluntly, they gaped like morons.

 

* * *

 

 

"Hello," Emily greeted them with a small smile, she squeezed their hands in her cold grip for a moment before letting go.

The twins returned the greeting, rather dumbly in Nova's opinion, but somehow they managed to scrounge up some brain cells to ask the questions that'd been racing through their minds since they'd fallen asleep and into this lucid dream.

"What's going on?"

" _Why_ are we here?"

"How are _you_ here?"

" _Where_ are we? Are we even asleep?"

Emily paused their questions with a raised hand and a pointed look that reminded the girls of Grams and all the times she'd used that exact look on them; you know, the look that people give you when you're pushing their patience.

"Rest assured. You are both still asleep and on your way to Mystic Falls. This... place you are dreaming of was made by your own minds," Emily explained as she gestured around the large clearing, although it wasn't much of an explanation in their opinion.

"But, _how_?" Bonnie questioned incredulously, rightfully still a little confused - you'd think they'd remember creating some weird ass dreamscape.

"Magic," Emily replied with a teasing smile on her lips, she continued more seriously while the twins rolled their eyes in unison at her vague answer. "The rest of your questions will be answered in due time. But, for now, we must prepare for the string of powerful spells you both will be performing very soon."

Nova squeezed Bonnie's hand in reassurance when they were both sobered at the mention of what was waiting for them when they woke up.

No one needed to be a Seer to be able to notice all the little things that didn't add up; Vicki's unexplained death that not even she knew what happened besides her neck being snapped from behind, the unknown yet vaguely familiar Vampire who had tried to let the newborn Vampire out of her timeout, the missing talisman, not to mention Caroline and Elena being missing, somewhere even Sheila Bennetts Magic couldn't find them.

 _'Mysterious Vampire'_ or not, the plan hadn't changed - at least not for the elder twin. Adjusted, naturally, but it hadn't changed. She wanted her friends back more than anything, and the Tomb Vampires needed to be dealt with before Katherine came to town.

They couldn't find Caroline and Elena, so they would have to draw out the person who took them. Opening the Tomb would be their best bet to getting their attention, and if it didn't get their attention, burning every rotting Vampire in that Tomb should do just the trick.

There wasn't much Emily could teach them about the spells. After all, the twins had studied the required spells from top to bottom since they'd found the Grimoire. But their biggest problem wasn't lack of knowledge, it was that the Tomb had sealed to keep it shut but also there's another seal to keep Vampires from exiting.

Nova hadn't forgotten about it, it's what she'd been obsessing over - because of fucking course, she'd obsess over something that might kill her one of her family members. But after months of research on the spellwork put into boundaries and seals, she had only found one spell that might work because breaking seals without even the barest information on how it was made -

Well, that shit was complicated and always gave her a headache, kind of like math.

Nova hadn't thought Emily would ever give the specifics for the spell because Witches, herself included, were stingy when it came to giving people their spells, least of all for the sake of Vampires.

Nova had been planning on mostly winging it, but now she doesn't have to because it soon became apparent to the girls that Emily Bennett values family more than pride.

According to the many books Nova had read on the subject, lifting the seal would be like trying to open a closing portcullis with your bare hands. It would work for a split second, more if you were powerful enough - but you'd eventually get exhausted and the full weight of it would collapse on you.

Emily informed them that they would have to unravel the spell with their Magic until it broke or risk exhaustion trying to, figuratively, hold it open for however long it took for Damon to pout over Katherine being a bitch - okay, so Emily hadn't said it in those words, exactly, but Nova knew it was what she wanted to say, so whatever.

Their Ancestor informed the twins that they had to practice unraveling seals. And, of course, some form of Magic works in this place because witchcraft always manages to bulldoze over any logic left in the twins. Emily couldn't interact with anything in this place because it was theirs - their dreams, their minds - so she had them set up a few rocks in a circle around them.

"Because a good foundation is important when dealing with singular seals. This will have to do as we are on borrowed time," Emily replied when the twins questioned the use of what was starting to look like a mini-Stonehenge.

She then had them make the exact seal placed on the Tomb - albeit with less Magic imbued into it, there was no comet powering the spell and it'd be overkill to do that when technically the Magic wouldn't be going anywhere. And then after, they had to practice unraveling it.

Unraveling the Magic that was tied to the makeshift foundation was a bit like trying to untangle invisible strings, or untangle Nova's hair in the morning, it was the same thing.

Emily was a hardcore teacher and made them practice the spell so many times Nova felt she could do them in her sleep - oh, wait, she was. The twins exchanged startled looks when whatever Spirit Magic Emily had been able to use to travel into their dreams, faded with absolutely no warning, her Spirit disappearing midsentence.

"I guess we're on our own now," Bonnie finally spoke when their meddling Ancestor didn't pop back in to finish lecturing them, which equal parts relieved them and worried them. "Guess so," Nova responded ruefully, sharing a half-hearted smile with her twin.

They started to walk back to what they decided had to be her 'side' of the dreamscape before they woke up. She didn't know what would happen when she finally woke up and wasn't where she had first appeared. Twins or not, actually sharing a brain with her sister would be a little too weird, even for them.

"Do we have a plan for getting them back?" Bonnie inquired as the eldest twin followed her, trusting her to instinctively know the way back to what Nova's deciding to call; 'The Ravine Of Doom'.

Nova shrugged at the question, too preoccupied looking around in confusion when it took less time to go through the dancing autumn trees and back to the ravine.

"I have a plan, don't worry, just leave it to me," Nova answered absently while staring at the pitch black ravine, she thought on a quote that she found oddly fitting to for this moment, and her entire future;

He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby becomes a monster. And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee, she quoted inwardly with a wry smile.

"Okay... wanna tell me the plan?" Bonnie pushed the subject, trying to be patient but anyone who knew her would be able to hear the undertone of annoyance in her voice, her annoyance was also warranted.

But sue her, she messed this universe up, she might as well fix her unintentional mess.

"I'm going to make a deal with the person who took them," Nova replied after a moment of contemplation, she tried not act like she had just come up with the plan, she probably failed, going by the skeptical look Bonnie gave her.

"You know who they are, don't you?" Bonnie stated more than she questioned, an intelligent gleam look in her green eyes.

"Don't I always," Nova spoke her smile turning a little too bitter for someone her physical age. Probably should have kept her bitter retort to herself, she thought absently as Bonnie sent her a concerned glance that Nova chose to ignore for the moment.

"I'll see you whenever we wake up," Nova changed the subject with zero subtly, and her sister, wonderful as she was, let her. Nova waved goodbye to her exasperated sister before she turned away from her sister and started running towards beautiful yet odd black grass and crimson trees.

She skillfully leaped over the ravine of doom and thought to herself that this was definitely going down as one her top ten _'What the actual fuck just happened?'_ moments.

 

* * *

 

 

Nova didn't wake up after a few impatient minutes of staring at the scenery. Beyond inpatient, she found herself wandering around what she decided to call her mind palace, technically it was a forest, but whatever.

She passed through the red trees and towards a small clearing that was almost identical to the spot that every teenager in town gathered at for essentially unplanned parties, it was also a hotspot for make-outs. The clearing was surrounded by trees, the grass was sparse and mostly dirt that would turn into mud when it rained. Normally this place would be marked as a dump - if not for the beautiful waterfall that, every year, without fail, someone got dared to jump down from.

The only difference she could spot was the blood-red grass, the fact that the lake was unrealistically clean. And the sky was still absurdly beautiful and strange, but mostly strange. Nova made herself comfortable on the collapsed tree that faced the lake when she realized it would be awhile before she woke up.

"The two of you are very imaginative," Emily remarked idly, abruptly sitting casually next to the unaware teen.

"Holy fucking shit," Nova cursed instinctively, it usually helped her calm down, usually. She ignored Emily's chiding look at her language because as far as she was concerned, it was warranted.

They were quiet for a moment as they took in the sights her mind had created. Nova knew perception time didn't work the same way in dreams as it did in reality, but it felt like nearly an hour had passed before Emily decided to finally explain to her why she'd sought her out, alone.

"You have many secrets, I'm sure -"

"Don't we all," Nova tried to joke with a feeble grin that she neglected when Emily turned to face her with a deadpan expression.

"But the secret of your birth - or rebirth, as it were - should be revealed before it is too late," Emily continued on as though she hadn't been interrupted, watching as the reincarnated teen became absolutely still in silent shock.

Nova absently acknowledged that her Ancestor was right. She had thought the same thing not too long ago and had a promise to her sister to keep. But shock tied her tongue in knots. She wasn't surprised by the fact that the living Bennett Witches had been watched by their Ancestors. Eerie as it was to think about, Spirits had nothing to do but watch their descendants lives, gossip over the living. And if they were powerful enough, they would even meddle in the affairs of the living.

But she had hoped that her being a Seer would keep them from getting suspicious about her extensive knowledge. Clearly, those hopes were wishful thinking and died tragically.

"How... did you find out?" Nova felt the words come out her mouth but couldn't figure how she'd gotten her mouth to move, let alone breathe - was she breathing, did she need to breathe in her dream? She distantly acknowledged she was probably on the verge of having a panic attack, _in her dream,_ how mindfucking was that.

"Witches, with knowledge of your kind, tend to know these things. It's part of our intuition." Emily replied simply, but a few specific words drew the attention of the teenager.

_My kind._

My kind meant that there were more people like her; those who had died in one universe, only to be reborn into this universe.

Nova felt confusion at this information. Although the twins bragged about their knowledge, they obviously didn't know about every Supernatural Being known to walk the earth. Still, you would think they would have come across at least a mention of reincarnation being real. Most people, human or not, were obsessed with living longer. Physical proof of some form of reincarnation being real should have been in the Supernatural index or at least a mention in the many Journals they had collected.

She decided to sweep the confusion aside to be examined later as something that felt like hope wormed its way into her heart. Hope that maybe she wasn't the only one in the universe with this shitload of knowledge; it was information that made her feel confident and powerful, yet sometimes it was too much to bear alone.

"Though, sometimes if a vampire is old enough, they'll be able to sense something... different," Emily's words broke her from the scattered thoughts running through her ever racing brain. "Old souls such as yourself are rare, but easy to recognize with the proper knowledge. They say it's all in the eyes." she continued when the teenager didn't speak, and funny as it was for someone who usually always had a comeback, she couldn't find the words.

So, all one had to do was gaze lovingly into her eyes to know what she was, _great_ , she thought sarcastically.

"Does Bonnie know...?" Nova questioned, though she was certain her sister didn't know, she nevertheless sighed in relief when Emily shook her head. She didn't ask if Grams knew; the reincarnated teen had realized very early on that the elder Witch knew more about her than she let on. Neither of them said anything about it for different reasons.

"You may rest easy knowing only Bennetts witches, excluding Bonnie and those you haven't met, know what you are," Emily was probably trying to be reassuring but ultimately failed, terribly.

Instead, the news unsettled her, just a little bit. Because if almost the entire Bennett line knew about her Soul by just looking into her fucking eyes, that meant it wouldn't take long for people who would soon want her dead to find out as well. So much for keeping all of her cards close to her chest, she thought dryly, shaking off her unease as much as possible.

"And what exactly am I?" Nova finally found the guts to ask the question that, until now, had only asked herself.

"...I believe this is a conversation that your Grams would very much like to have with you." Emily replied after a second of visible hesitation, the answer caused the teenager to sigh in exasperation.

She decided would have to talk to Grams first before telling her friends, it would be helpful to know what exactly she was before she told her friends. But she was still confused on how the seven hells should she start that kind of conversation.

Though amusing to think about, she couldn't say something like: _'Oh, hey! Btw guys, I once died in another universe and got reincarnated in this one. Cool, right?!'_

Then there was the fact she would have to talk about her _dying_ to get to the reincarnated bit. She had never talked to anyone about it, for obvious reasons, but it was something that she more than likely needed to talk about, even though she didn't want to. Unwillingly, her mind went back to that moment when the only sounds she could hear were distant screams that echoed and the crackling of the fire surrounding her.

She had held on tight to Merlin while clutching her bed sheets over mouth in a vain attempt to stop breathing in the smoke that had already entered her lungs. Merlin's vibrant green eyes had pulled her eyes away from the flames surrounding them, momentarily distracting her from the Soul retching pain that soon claimed her. And make no mistake, it had _hurt_ , _so much_. And though the fear of fire was all but gone, just remembering the agonizing pain still made her fucking _tremor_ while sleeping -

Emily's deathly cold hands on her cheeks startled her out her panic attack, concerned brown eyes looked up at her. Nova blinked several times in mild surprise when she noticed that her Ancestor had elegantly knelt on the crimson grass to get her attention.

"How are you touching me?" Nova, though genuinely interested, asked mostly to distract herself from her very shit thoughts.

"I'm not physically touching you, as I do not have a corporeal body. What you are feeling is my magic. Technically my spirit self isn't in your mind, that would be possession. I used our bond as blood family-" Nova only half-listened to Emily as the elder woman explained the Spirit Magic she had used to contact the twins through their dreams.

The teenager felt worried eyes on her all through the explanation but couldn't bring herself to completely focus on the impromptu lesson as her eyes felt heavy as a ton of bricks. She gave into the absurd urge to fall asleep in her dreams, reclining back on the fallen tree. Her bleary eyes followed the hypnotizing movement of the red leaves that swayed above.

"No matter who you were before, you are a Bennett witch now. And we remain strong, together, in the face of conflict and disaster." Those were the last words Nova heard before her eyes closed. And though the words were super fucking cheesy, they warmed her heart all the same.

 

* * *

 

 

The twins woke up to the sound of what seemed to be an argument between two people. If they were trying to be quiet, they were failing spectacularly, she thought dryly as she opened her bleary eyes.

Nova opened her eyes with an irritated frown when the sun decided to stab her in her eyes through the window. Bonnie groaned when the yellow dwarf star also decided to also stab her in the eyes with its stupid overeagerness to shine like the stupid sun it is.

"Great, now look at what you did - you woke them up,"

Nova ignored the very rude and loud talking going on as she tried, rather uselessly, to fight off a migraine. She was feeling disoriented, her mouth was dry and she felt like she'd gotten less sleep than she usually did, which was saying something. She still couldn't believe she had a panic attack, in her fucking _sleep_.

Bonnie started peeling her cheek from the window with a grimace, the movement knocked her out of her disbelief. Instead of dwelling on her insane life, she chose to take in their surroundings with a glare; they had arrived back in town, thankfully. Damon had parked in front of the twins house.

But sometime between parking the car, he had gotten out the car and started arguing with Stefan. There was the question of why Stefan decided to lurk around their house in the first place, but she chose to ignore all of that to pay attention to far more important matters.

Nova sighed and shared an exhausted look with her sister. She closed her eyes for a brief moment as she leaned on the center console, only opening her eyes to pop open her glove compartment and grab two pairs of sunglasses. She rolled her eyes at the fact her keys were still in the car and grabbed them before she collapsed back on her sister's arm, exhausted by those simple movements.

Bonnie tapped her arm in a silent reminder, probably too nauseous to even attempt to speak. Nova sighed and lamented the fact she more than likely wouldn't be going to sleep for at least another day but quickly handed one pair of sunglasses to her sister as she slid on another pair.

Once they had proper protection against the sun who decided to be bright despite the fact it was almost fucking winter - they got out the car with all the reluctance of a child being told it was their bedtime. "Hey, assholes!" Nova shouted to get the Salvatore brother's attention, it worked, they stopped arguing to turn towards her in unison.

"You're both very pretty," she started mockingly, ignoring the snort from her sister and the eye roll she got from both Salvatore's. "But we can host a competition over whose prettiest girls in town after we get back my best friends." Nova reminded them with a glare that was unseen through the thick frames of the sunglasses.

Like holy fuck, she seriously was questioning how Katherine kept herself from strangling these assholes whenever they decided to measure their dick sizes.

"Did Grams manage to get through whatever was blocking her from doing a locator spell?" Bonnie questioned swiftly cutting off any more arguments. The question drew everyone's attention towards Stefan, who silently shook his head, his posture radiating the frustration all of them felt -

Well, everyone but Damon who was probably just here for his own special brand of amusement.

Nova crossed her arms, groaning at the news, she started walking towards up the steps that led up to the front door.

"It doesn't matter. We know that whoever kidnapped them wants to get into the tomb. I think opening it will be enough to get their attention, don't you?" Nova stated more than asked, she was too busy looking through her messenger bag to notice a response.

But, in the end, no one got to respond to her very sound logic because just as Nova found her house key - she should really get a keyring for both her car and house keys - the door opened with a sharp creak that startled the ever living shit out of her.

Nova only calmed down when she saw it was just her father, she felt more than saw her twin stand next to her, and so, together they watched their father's face cycle through a lot of emotions in what felt like seconds. First was the relief, that emotion lasted for about five seconds before he moved on to anger, the last emotion seen on his face was determination before he went stone-faced.

The twins shared a look, both of them thinking that maybe, just maybe they should have snuck in instead of using the front door. Nova wasn't sure how, but she was apparently more stupid hungover than she was drunk.

"...Um, Hi, dad. I'm sorry. We are so sorry we didn't call but - " Bonnie started to grovel, only to abruptly shut her mouth when her stomach made an audible grumble. And with a panicked look in her eyes, she rushed past them and into the house.

Nova risked a peek behind her, frowning when she saw only saw her car, the Salvatore brothers were suspiciously absent. Cowards, she thought with jealousy. Though it was probably for the best, she thought when she turned back to her silently furious father with a weak smile.

"So... how much trouble are we in?" Nova questioned tentatively when her dad waved her into the house, she followed him into the house, wincing when he shut the door a little too loud for her hangover headache.

"We'll talk about that when your sister gets... finished," Rudy trailed off simply when they could distantly hear Bonnie's retching coming from upstairs. Both of them winced at the noise that echoed through the otherwise quiet home.

Nova wanted to go and check on her sister, but the look her dad was enough to pin her in place. She could remember the last time she'd seen him this angry with them.

Rudy had allowed them to go to a party on the condition they would be back by eleven, only for them to have to be dragged back home by Sheriff Forbes, at two am. Riding in the back of a police car was surprisingly fun. Getting lectured by Liz, and then getting grounded by both their father and Grams, however, was not fun for the twins, at all.

They settled down in the kitchen while they waited for Bonnie. An awkward silence settled between them as they waited, the only noise heard in the kitchen was the tick-tock noise coming from the clock.

 _Tick_.

Tock.

 _Tick_.

Tock.

"...How is work?" Nova asked if only to distract her from the noise, her hands nervously, and anxiously, tapped her keys on the palm of her hand, unknowingly echoing the clock.

"Do you even know what my job is?" Rudy questioned dryly, calmly looking at this morning's newspaper.

"Of course," Nova scoffed as though it was obvious - it wasn't, but she wasn't good with awkward silences. She cursed that inability when he finally tore his eyes away from the paper and looked at her, motioning for her to continue.

"...Finance, duh," Nova took a wild stab in the dark, but she was rewarded when he was pleasantly surprised by her vaguely correct answer. Sadly, her guessing correctly made him actually start to talk about his job. She may or may not have made a few typical teenager faces when he wasn't looking.

Nova was just relieved he wasn't angry enough to start yelling at them before they even stepped into the house. But, that was the thing with Rudy Hopkins, no matter how angry he was he never raised his voice or hand. He would just calmly state their honestly minor 'penalties' and they were expected to follow through or their many rick kid privileges were revoked; phones, cars, weekly allowance, and sometimes if they really crossed the line - but Nature forbid it - no wifi.

She shuddered in horror at the thought but was thankfully distracted by the sound of Bonnie walking down the steps and into the kitchen with hesitant steps.

Nova gave her sister a sympathetic smile and handed her the second water that she'd gotten from the fridge. Bonnie silently took the water bottle with a tired but thankful smile before hesitantly sitting down next to her sister.

"I know that the two of you are... relatively mature for your age," Rudy spoke up after they were out of the water they had used as an excuse to avoid the impending conversation. She couldn't help but roll her eyes, which were fortunately covered by her shades.

"We didn't have much of a choice," Nova couldn't help but mumble, only quieting when her sister nudged her elbow.

"But going out of town without adult supervision and not answering my calls is more than irresponsible. It was dangerous and reckless and I expected better from the both of you -" Nova kind of tuned out the rest of the scolding. She deserved it, she knew she did, but she couldn't find it in herself to listen with the unique latte wall clock that Bonnie had bought online fucking mocking her.

Each moment spent wasting here getting lectured was another minute Caroline and Elena could be suffering.

Nova knows more about her friends than she does herself, and it wasn't because of any television show she watched a literal lifetime ago. Caroline and Elena were both stubborn and persistent, in their own ways. And while they wouldn't mind being saved from the metaphorical dragon as much as she does - because she hates being a damsel in distress - they would at least try to escape on their own.

The possibility of them getting caught trying to escape was very high, the possibility of them getting while trying to escape was even higher with batshit crazy Vampires running around. Nova groaned loudly at her stupid thoughts and started glaring at the clock still fucking ticking on the wall.

Maybe she could break it and somehow blame it on Damon. She's only thirty percent sure she could pull it off, but even if she did get caught, it'd be worth getting rid of the stupid noise.

" - Are you even listening to me, Nova?" Rudy interrupted her thoughts of vandalism, she reluctantly returned her attention back to her scolding father.

"As much as I love getting scolded like a five-year-old, we have somewhere important to be. So could you maybe just give us our very deserved punishment already? " Nova probably could have worded that a little bit better, but she ignored that fact, and Bonnie's exasperated sigh.

"...Fine, you two want your punishments?" Rudy questioned, mostly rhetorically, his tone light despite the irritation that showed in his eyes.

Nova suddenly felt she would have been better off keeping her mouth closed for the duration of the lecture. But it was too late now, so she nodded along with a wary Bonnie, accepting her fate.

"Neither of you are allowed to leave the house unless it's for school for the rest of the month. Not even to your friends. Nor are they allowed here." Rudy added after a moment, ignoring their dismay he held out his hand expectedly. "Keys, both of you,"

Nova frowned but didn't argue and gave her car keys to him along with Bonnie, who went to grab her own keys from the living room.

"How are we supposed to get to school without our cars?" Bonnie questioned with a frown, dropping her keys into Rudy's palm.

"The way you used to before you got your cars, your bikes are still in the attic, use them," Rudy responded calmly, essentially dismissing them when he went back to reading the newspaper.

"But we have to -" Nova closed her mouth and tilted her head curiously when she heard the floorboards upstairs creak. She knew that creak, it was the same sound her floor made whenever she went to open the window in her bedroom.

"Elena and Caroline are missing, dad. Our best friends are missing and we can be grounded after we find them," Bonnie finished her sentence for her, shooting her an inquiring look.

Nova looked at her twin with a subtle smile that she wiped off her face when their dad focused his attention back on them.

"Missing?" Rudy prodded for more information, more alert than he had been throughout the whole conversation.

"Yes, missing. You know, when a person disappears for twenty-four hours and doesn't answer their phones?" Nova couldn't help but snark, she only relaxed when she felt Merlin brush up against her leg.

"Sounds like something kids these days are into," Rudy commented dryly, reminding Nova that she wasn't the only one with a mouth on her in this house.

"Okay, I deserved that," Nova admitted freely, she placed her sunglasses in her pocket so she could look her father in his eyes to convey her seriousness.

Merlin climbed in her lap, his warmth soothing her jittery nerves. "But this isn't teenagers rebelling against their parents, this is Elena and Caroline. The four of us have been best friends since kindergarten, we text each other at least fifty times a day and we always answer on the third call," Nova shared a worried look with her sister, the only thing that was stopping them from tearing Mystic Falls apart to find them was their over-protective, yet still distant father.

Nova felt stupid now that she really thought about it. She should have noticed how fishy it was that Elena hadn't answered any of their calls. Even if she was angry at Nova and Stefan. She would have at least answered Bonnie's calls to reassure them all that she at least wasn't dead.

Before the car accident that killed half the Gilbert's, they wouldn't have worried as much. But since the accident they'd all made sure answer by the third call, it had been Nova's idea, insistence really.

"Okay, I believe you," the twins breathed a sigh of relief at Rudy's words but they grimaced when he continued, "We can go to the police station now. I'm sure Sheriff Forbes would like to know her daughter might be missing - if she doesn't know already."

Nova highly doubted the woman had noticed, she doubted Liz Forbes would notice if Caroline died and became a Vampire; the only parents in this town that had actually paid attention to their kids beside the bare minimum had been the Gilberts.

But they were dead. She tried to ignore the mixture of guilt and sorrow that pierced her heart at the reminder, playing with Merlin's soft paws for a distraction.

"I don't think that's a good idea!" Bonnie blurted out when he was halfway out the kitchen, his coat half-way on, he paused at the exclamation.

"...Why not?" Rudy asked carefully, sighing he folded his arms as he waited for them to find a good reason.

Nova was tired, but she was mostly tired of this bullshit.

They'd been tiptoeing around this subject for too long and she was so fucking done with this conversation. "Because vampires kidnapped them and I doubt the local police would be able to do much," Nova replied bluntly, ignoring the shocked looks her statement garnered she slid out her chair with Merlin in her arms.

"Vampires?" Rudy tried to act disbelieving but fell short under her deadpan stare, she broke the stare to roll her eyes.

"Yes, _vampires_. Shouldn't be too hard to believe, since both of your daughters are witches." Nova spoke nonchalantly, adjusting the purring Familiar in her arms she opened the fridge, grabbing another water bottle.

There was a heavy silence that was only broken when Nova shut the fridge closed.

"How did... Sheila told you? I knew letting you girls spend so much time with her was a bad idea," Rudy was quick to snap out of his shock and put the blame on Grams, as always.

"No, it wasn't Grams," Bonnie spoke with a clenched jaw, tired of always defending Grams; the one person who accepted them as they were and never sought to change them despite their many differences. The elder Witch had made plenty mistakes during her life, but how she helped raise them was not one.

"I think it was the floating objects that really did it," Nova added sarcastically, smiling bitterly at her still stunned father.

She gave her sister the water bottle abruptly, who took it with a momentarily bewildered frown that cleared up when she gave her a look that spoke more than words did.

"Are you going to allow us to save our friends?" Nova questioned despite already knowing the answer, absently pulling her messenger bag off the kitchen table and around her shoulders, despite her ire at the situation she was careful not to jostle the ever watchful Merlin in her arms.

"If it really is... vampires, I think it'd be best to let your Grams handle this," Rudy responded hesitantly, like admitting that he knew about Vampires would somehow make them appear in his kitchen, which, at this moment, was actually very possible.

Nova knew he was just trying to protect them, it didn't make his words any less annoying. "Okay then," Nova said with a shrug, she grabbed her sister's hand, and dragged them out the kitchen.

"We are going to eventually have to talk about this," Rudy followed them out the kitchen, watching them with a frown as they walked up the stairs.

"What's there to talk about, dad? We have magic, and instead of explaining the fact we weren't crazy or imagining things - you tried to keep it from us!" Bonnie spun on her heel to say to their apologetic father - though, it was more of a yell.

Nova winced at the raised volume and gently pulled her sister up the stairs to avoid prolonging the argument any more than it had already been.


	20. And thus the threats are spoken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nova is having serious mood swings, Anna is a banana, and Damon doesn't realize he's in for heartbreak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a long time to update, because life - anyway, I hope you enjoy this one!

The twins let out a sigh of relief when it became clear that their father wouldn't be following them up the stairs.

Nova abruptly paused on the way to her room, her sister halting with her when she randomly went into the bathroom.

Bonnie watched in idle curiosity while she flicked a switch that turned on the bathroom ceiling light and turned on the shower, she made sure it was only cold water before shutting the door behind her with a soft click. It wasn't Nova's best work by far. In fact, it was downright shoddy - but it would have to do, she thought with a determined frown.

The twins let out a sigh of relief when it became clear that their father wouldn't be following them up the stairs.

Nova abruptly paused on the way to her room, her sister halting with her when she randomly went into the bathroom.

Bonnie watched in idle curiosity while she flicked a switch that turned on the bathroom ceiling light and turned on the shower, she made sure it was only cold water before shutting the door behind her with a soft click. It wasn't Nova's best work by far. In fact, it was downright shoddy - but it would have to do, she thought with a determined frown.

Bonnie stared at her curiously but didn't question her odd actions, too preoccupied trying to soothe Nova's hissing Familiar.

Merlin had jumped out of her grip with a loud meow when he heard the sound of the water hitting the bathtub. He was a total baby about getting his shiny black fur wet.

Nova sighed with a fond roll of her eyes at the sight of hiding from her between Bonnie's legs. She slowly bent down to look into his forest green eyes. "Would you go find Grams for us, please?" Nova requested softly, still leery about ordering around her Familiar.

Merlin tilted his head adorably - she wasn't fooled by it, he could be a total menace and was probably working on world domination whenever her back was turned-, his gaze trailing to her boot-clad feet as though he was contemplating refusing the request.

After that unnecessary pause, he meowed in response before leisurely making his way down the steps and towards the living room door's catflap. Such a fucking diva, she thought fondly, watching his tail flick up in the air.

Nova shared a tired but amused smile with her sister before opening her bedroom door, she waited until Bonnie was inside before promptly closing and locking the door for extra measure.

Nova turned in a swift motion, only to start blinking rapidly at the odd sight, rubbing her tired eyes for good measure.

"What the hell am I looking at?" Nova mock-whispered, leaning casually on her sister's shoulder. Bonnie shrugged with a bewildered frown at the comical scene they were currently gawking at in amused bewilderment.

Damon, no doubt about it, found himself bored of listening to their family drama and started to snoop - but that wasn't what they were confused about.

When she had heard the floorboards creak she had suspected that the Salvatore's had decided to sneak into her room - if the situation wasn't so urgent she would have been annoyed by the fact -, she had also predicted that Damon would go through her shit. She hadn't been worried by the thought, mostly because anything of value was either not of interest to the snooping Vampire, or securely locked away.

What confused the ever living shit out of the twins was the fact that it looked like Stefan and Damon had started fighting over - get this - _her fucking bra._

The Bennett twins share another glance before moving closer. Damon smirked mischievously, and that was the only warning his brother got before he abruptly let go of the bra strap, leaving an irate Stefan stiffly holding onto her bra.

"I don't think it's your color," Nova quipped dryly, snatching the hot pink bra from his feeble grasp, she waved off whatever apologies Stefan opened his mouth to spew.

Nova giggled at the stray thought of Stefan brooding forehead Salvatore actually wearing her lacy hot pink bra - he could totally be into dressing into lacy lingerie and she would never judge him - just laugh at him... and take pictures because the attractive asswipe would probably look better in it than her.

Disregarding the wary looks her slightly hysterical giggle granted her, she carelessly tossed the bra away from her.

She didn't watch to see where it landed, she was too busy moving her assorted collection of candles off her bedside table - technically, it was a wooden trunk, but, schematics - and carefully opening the Magically sealed trunk. She played oblivious to the prying eyes to look for a few items in particular.

"Locator spells aren't working. They probably have the talisman. And we just got grounded." Bonnie decided to list their very many problems, though she was probably just uncomfortable with the silence - and the Salvatores, fucking pretty boys.

"What are we going to do? Besides opening the tomb and hoping it'll attract their attention," Bonnie added slightly scathingly, reminding her twin that neither of them had their morning coffee in two days,  _the horror._

"Well, I vote for opening the tomb. And when they decide to show their faces, we kill them." Damon declared as though it was such an obvious solution, and maybe it was - to his problems.

"If they show," Stefan reminded his brother, the frown he was sporting right now was fucking  _audible_.

"Even if we open the tomb,  _which we will_ , would they even let them go after everything was said and done?" Bonnie questioned incredulously, she was visibly startled when her twin suddenly turned on her heel and pointed at her with a pleased grin.

"Finally, a smart question!" Nova exclaimed with a hint of exasperation, ignoring the annoyed look Damon gave her, she shoved Emily's Grimoire towards her sister. "I think I have a vague idea of where this 'mysterious vampire' might be. I just need a little time to confirm it." She continued more seriously as her twin gingerly took the Grimoire because it was old as shit.

Nova could feel practically feel Damon's eyes narrow on her when she unthinkingly used quotation marks. Stefan was giving her the same look, although way less hostile and more on the side of curious suspicion.

They were more than likely speculating that she knew something they didn't, and they'd be correct, she knew a lot that they didn't.

But everyone was just going to have to fucking suck it up and accept her beautifully fucked up brain because her foreknowledge was going to save all of their stupidly attractive asses.

"While you're off doing that, I'll go help Grams prepare for the spells. I guess we'll have to walk..." Bonnie spoke up before anyone could ask her sister questions that were probably on everyone's minds.

Nova was grateful for her sister intervening, and let her know with a single glance. Bonnie shot her back a look that basically said;  _'This plan better work. And you better tell me everything after this, or else.'_

Nova knew it wasn't fair and that Bonnie was just as worried as she was about their friends, if not more considering she didn't know as much about the situation. And Stefan would probably want to confront the person who took someone he obviously cared about.

But she really wanted, no - needed to handle this herself.

She acknowledged the fact she had fucked up big time by leaving town just because she was stressed. The least she could do was fix it - and she would get her friends back, there was no other alternative.

"Why walk when you could hop on the Salvatore train?" Nova couldn't help but joke even though she was a bundle of impatient nerves, her thoughts weren't helping calm her.

The suggestion had been a serious one despite the joking tone she had used. Although they could easily spell the keys back into their grips with a whispered incantation - it would be a waste of time and energy. And those were both things they couldn't waste any more of today.

She also found the thought of piggybacking through Mystic Falls on either of the Vampires backs to be highly amusing, but she kept that little tidbit to herself.

"I feel like that wasn't supposed to sound as dirty as it did, so I'm just going to... ignore it," Bonnie stated after a moment of just staring at her with narrowed eyes.

Nova huffed at her sister's suspicion but didn't get to protest at the accusation, as the twins' dad decided to knock at the exact moment she opened her mouth. "One second!" Nova requested at the third knock, she hushed any protest and urged Stefan and Bonnie towards the already raised window.

The sight of Bonnie clinging to Stefan's back like a spider monkey was more than amusing but she didn't have time to take a picture. When she saw them safely land in the backyard, she immediately started pushing an amused Damon into her closet.

"Not a fucking word," Nova warned with narrowed eyes, he mimed a zipped lip despite the smirk that had to be permanently fucking attached to his face.

"Yeah?" Nova replied to the knock while unlocking her door, she did her best to appear like a moody teenager that didn't get her way as her dad stepped inside her cluttered yet still organized room; it wasn't very hard, considering she was  _technically_  a moody teenager.

"I called your Grams. She said she's more than happy to look for your friends," Rudy explained as he took in the room with curious eyes - she doesn't think he's been in here since she finished painting it, to be fair it had taken her a while.

"Awesome..." Nova dryly dragged out the word sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She glanced at the closet and tried to remain nonchalant as she kicked her closet door closed when it started to creak open. Asshole, she thought while glaring at the door.

Nova met her father's wary gaze with a deadpan gaze, she was relieved when he didn't question her odd behavior. She probably should be grateful she had always been a smart, but weird, smartass of a child.

She busied herself with picking out another [outfit ](https://www.polyvore.com/nova_opening_tomb_outfit/set?id=237437654)to avoid furthering the conversation - if it could be called that with all the awkward pauses - because although the outfit Lexi let her borrow was amazing, it was not made for hiking out into the woods during late autumn nor opening Tombs that contain hungry Vampires - though she doesn't think they actually make outfits for that last one.

"Where is your sister?" Rudy questioned, as predicted, he walked too close to the closet for the comfort.

She hid her discomfort as best she could while pulling galaxy leggings out of her wardrobe, trying to make it seem as though she was simply grabbing pajamas. "In the shower," Nova replied nonchalantly, grabbing her phone out of her jacket pocket. She was relieved he never took away their phones, if only because they needed it for emergencies.

Nova cringed at the amount of missed calls; ten from Grams, five from Jeremy, three from Jenna and one from Sherrif Forbes - huh, maybe she had noticed her missing daughter after all.

She pondered on that fact she might have to take care of all the missing calls and come up with a good cover story just to avoid the disaster it would be if the police, and inevitably the Council, decided to interfere.

Nova valiantly ignored her father hovering in the background and quickly selected Jeremey's icon picture - he was eloquently named emo dud(e) - and she texted him quickly;  _'Where are u? - Nova'_

She hesitated to turn off the screen off, her phone's background was doing shit to her heart that she didn't want it to, it was the first picture the girls had taken as high schoolers.

Elena had terrible bangs - all of them had terrible acne - but was still adorable as she smiled brightly at her friends instead of the camera. Caroline was caught mid-laughter, blue eyes bright as she looked at the camera. And Bonnie had tried to hide her own laugh with her hand but had given up mid-shot.

Nova - standing in the middle of Caroline and Bonnie while smiling sheepishly at the camera - had been the one to take the picture. She had been forced to stand on her toes to take the picture, considering both Elena and Caroline had both grown taller than her, hence the laughter.

"I thought I heard the shower running," Rudy's voice jolted her from her melancholy mood, prompting her to finally throw her phone on the bed.

Nova lowered her head to hide her pleased smile behind her mountain of curls when his words finally registered. She knew shouldn't be this amused to get one over her dad, of all people, but she was - seeing as it seemed like everyone else was doing the same to her.

"Hey," Rudy drew her attention with a gentle hand on her tense shoulder. She hesitantly turned towards him, curious despite her still simmering ire at their previous argument.

"I know you both think what I did was unfair. But everything I do, I do it to protect the both of you." His words practically pleaded with her to understand. And she did understand, but sometimes understanding someone else's motives doesn't mean she has to  _like_  them.

"Magic is apart of us in a way I can't even explain, dad. And it's not something you can protect us from, sorry," Nova responded lightly, her apology halfhearted as she would never change her heritage.

Rudy just nodded with a tired and resigned sigh at her words, as though he expected them but had been hoping for anything but those words.

"I'm going to go check on Bonnie. And maybe later we can talk more about why the two of you decided going out of town was so important." Rudy was quick to change to subject, just the word Magic made him visibly uncomfortable.

It saddened her that an important person in her life could so quickly reject something that was apart of her as much as the blood in her veins. But she bottled up the hurt near the anger as she leaned into the hug he gave her.

"Maybe," Nova echoed the word softly with a wry smile, watching as he left the room. She knew they would go back to avoid talking about anything that would cause conflict in the already fractured home.

"And I thought I had family drama," was the first thing out of Damon's mouth as he flung the closet door open. Nova turned to grant him a faux smile, he allowed her to pull him out her closet by his shirt.

"Trust me. You and your brother still win in the fucked up family department." She reassured him with a sarcastic smile, receiving one from him in return.

Nova had already abandoned all of her minuscule modesty around Damon and immediately changed her clothes. She ignored the intense and slightly impatient stare aimed at her, she carefully grabbed a leather satchel from the back of her closet, it was filled to the brim with everything she regularly used for her craft.

They left right before her dad could figure out that both of his children managed to sneak out the house right underneath his nose.

* * *

Nova let out a stuttering breath, clinging to Damon's shoulders while he jumped out of her window. She doesn't think he would be stupid enough to kill her before he got into the Tomb, but she didn't dare loosen her grip in case he decided to drop her for shits and giggles.

And there was that paranoia popping up again, with just a hint of trust-issues,  _yummy_.

Nova only relaxed her grip when they landed in the backyard without any fatal accidents. "Tell me again why we can't just take your car," Damon's voice was tinged with irritation as they passed by the car in question.

"Because my dad now has the keys to my car," Nova replied gloomily, sending a loving look towards her cherry red car.

"And you can't magic them back?"

"Not if I want to be still breathing after we get the tomb open,"

"Hm...I'll write you a nice eulogy,"

Nova tightened her legs around him to the point it'd be painful, for a human, she rolled her eyes at his over-exaggerated grunt of pain.

"Just use your superman speed to get us to Grams' house... Actually, let's make a pit stop at the Mystic Grill," she changed her mind after she reached to pull her vibrating phone out her boot and saw the reply to the text she had sent to Jeremy.

_'MG. Y? - Jeremy'_

Oh, Jeremy, ever the lazy texter, she thought while slipping her phone back into her boot, not bothering to reply to the question, he would find out soon enough.

"Got a craving for Mystic Falls' finest cuisine?" Damon questioned with a sarcastic lilt to his voice as they made their way towards Mystic Falls' forest so they could avoid the prying eyes of nosy neighbors she flicked off with a smile.

"Just checking my hunch," Nova responded vaguely - and it was the last thing she got to say before she was forced to start clinging to the Vampire with her strongest grip when he decided to speed through the forest.

Damon got them to the town square in what seemed like a blink of an eye but what was really around five minutes. It took them a few extra minutes to walk through the town square and towards the Mystic Grill, but it wasn't long before the restaurant was in sight.

Nova slowed to a stop as they approached closer the doors of the restaurant, she involuntarily shivered when a sensation she wasn't entirely used to, washed over her and took hold of her.

And then, just as suddenly, everything was bigger and less colorful as she saw through what she could only assume was Merlin's feline eyes, her vision quickly filled over with grays and drab blues.

His movements were quick on the concrete sidewalk, he leisurely climbed up the steps and quickly started scratching on wood, much to her confusion. The wood was apparently a door, it opened instantly, revealing a pair of legs.

Any confusion left in her vanished when Merlin looked up at Grams. Then there was an odd sensation of seeing, but not exactly feeling Grams picking Merlin up with gentle hands, her smile soft and eyes knowing.

She blinked rapidly as her vision bled back into colors, shaking off the sensation, she focused on Damon who had paused when he noticed she wasn't walking next to him.

"Do you trust me - okay, fuck that, you have more trust issues than I do - but do you trust my knowledge?" Nova felt like she'd asked this question before, and maybe she had, but it needed to be asked again. She walked closer to him, scowling at anyone who knew her and thought she wanted to  _chat_  - honestly, small town problems.

"What's this about?" Damon avoided the question, she bit down on her irritation because whether she liked it or not, she would have to tell him why they were here because she needed him on her side before they went in.

"If my suspicions are right, which they usually are, an old acquaintance of yours will be in there. They're probably stalking Jeremy as we speak," Nova admitted with only a small amount of hesitance, folding her arms defensively.

"Who?" Damon questioned with a piercing stare that was more distantly curious rather than hostile, but there was no doubt annoyance at the secrets she kept with an iron grip.

Nova softly spoke the name into his ear just in case someone was listening in on their conversation. She waited for a moment to watch his reaction before walking into the restaurant.

* * *

The Grill was apparently having a busy day.

And, despite the fact she spotted Jeremy and his little date almost immediately, she found herself dodging through busy servers for several minutes before she finally reached the table.

"Hey, Jer," Nova announced herself to the table's occupants by sitting down at their table, uninvited.

"Nova?! Hey, is Elena here with you? Where've have you guys been?" Jeremy recovered from the minor shock of her presence, questioning her relentlessly.

"We were out of town, girls night. Who's your friend?" Nova answered the questions vaguely, too occupied meeting the eyes of someone she had clearly underestimated - _shame on her._

"Oh, this is Anna. We met yesterday, she's new in town. Anna, this is Nova, the friend who's been helping me study, she's cool." Jeremy introduced them, watching them both carefully as he caught them glaring at each other despite their smiles, which were fake as a boob job.

"Cool," Anna repeated with a stiff smile, but despite how startled she seemed by Nova's appearance, she didn't seem to be overly concerned.

That just wouldn't do, she mused while eyeing the seemingly harmless girl. Nova needed an emotional reaction, she needed the Vampire to slip up and reveal  _something_  because at this point so much had changed that the only thing she knew about the girl was her main motive; her mother.

"You move fast," Nova commented idly as her eyes flickered towards four stacked journals laying on the cluttered table, the Vampire was clearly returning them instead of borrowing them - how had she  _missed_  that. And though she had said it while facing Jeremy - who seemed embarrassed, but covered it up with a typical teenager eye roll - it was meant for Anna, who got the subtle message if how her smile turned slightly smug was anything to go by.

Although she was irritated by the smug smirk, she was confused by everything else.

The Grimoire wasn't exactly needed since Anna was in possession of the talisman, so the question was why was she searching for it?

If anything, Anna should've been focusing on kidnapping one of the Bennett Witches to open the Tomb. But trying to kidnap one of them  _did_  become a big risk, with how much more confident and powerful Bonnie was as a Witch than she was in canon.

Taking their friends at least guaranteed cooperation - at least for normal kidnapping situations it did.

Nova's thoughts moved to Anna going through so much trouble to get the Grimoire - seducing Jeremy, decoding a madman's Journals, digging up a grave - only to find a cheap vegetarian cookbook. Now it was her turn to smirk, amusement clear in her eyes, annoying Anna, who now watched her with narrowed eyes.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" Nova questioned abruptly, watching the teenage boy with a raised brow.

"It's lunch," Jeremy replied pointing towards his burger and fries, he didn't point out that she was the one who had missed two days of school, knowing it was her weird way of mother-henning.

Nova was skeptical about why he wasn't eating in school, as it would take him twenty, maybe fifteen minutes to get back to school, cutting his lunchtime in half.

The cafeteria food wasn't that bad -

Okay, nope, that's one lie she couldn't even  _think_  about, that food was fucking offensive to her inner chef. But that's what the vending machines and homemade lunches are for, so she concluded this little lunch was more of a lunch  _date_.

"Hmm... That looks good, mind getting me one?" Nova ordered more than asked because date or not - seriously, this kid has got the worst luck with girls - she needed Jeremy away from the table. She would prefer him out of the restaurant, but getting him away from the table was going to have to do for now.

"But -" Jeremy closed his mouth when she shot him her best puppy dog look, it thankfully worked like a fucking charm.

Jeremy sighed in resignation, sending Anna an apologetic smile before he went to stand in line at the bar as it would be nearly impossible to flag down a waitress during rush hour.

"And a large coffee to go!" Nova shouted at his retreating back, she simply grinned when he flipped her off in response.

Damon, with impeccable timing that was definitely planned, sat down in the now unoccupied chair next to her. "Damon Salvatore," Anna greeted him, still irritatingly calm.

"Annabelle Zhu," Damon spoke her name, charming smirk in place despite the ire that showed in his eyes as he took in the Vampire who he'd thought was in the Tomb, or dead.

"Nova Bennett," Nova mockingly said her own name, drawing attention to herself. _What?_  She could hardly help it that they stepped into a cliche that had begged to be mocked.

"And here I thought you were in the tomb," Damon stated questioningly while gesturing at her to emphasize how she, you know, wasn't rotting in a Tomb.

"Well, you thought wrong... I escaped, but my mother wasn't so lucky," Anna explained very little, dashing any of Damon's expectations of getting a more detailed explanation of how she managed to escape.

Nova kept silent for the moment, busying herself with stealing the rest of Jeremy's fries as she thought on the fact it was clear to everyone at the table that Anna considered Damon more of a threat than little ol' Nova Amelia Bennett.

She was honestly a little relieved at the fact, she mused after she quickly got over herself and stopped being insulted, if only because it meant that Anna didn't know about her being a reincarnated Soul.

"Mm... So, that's why you stole... something that belonged to me," Damon stated lowly, narrowly avoiding sounding insane as a giggling couple bumped into their table.

Nova was tempted to remind both of them that the talisman technically belonged to Emily and her sister. But, instead, she stuffed fries in her mouth and checked on Jeremy's progress in the line of people waiting near the bar. Time to speed this shit up, she reflected while she watched Jeremy get closer and closer to the hassled bartender who was forced to take the orders the waiters couldn't.

"Okay, while I'm having such a blast listening to this  _riveting_  conversation," Nova drawled sarcastically, only continuing when she had both Vampire's attention. "Anna, I'll be opening the tomb, with or without you there. But if I'd like both of my friends back by that time, or else..." she trailed off, thinking about her many different threats she had thought on the way back to Mystic Falls.

"Or else what?" Anna seemed amused more than anything else, her amusement would be wiped off her face when she heard the rest of the threat - Nova would make sure of it.

"Let me make this very clear to you Anna-banana," Nova began mockingly, both her and Damon watched in mutual amusement when Anna's eyes narrowed at the frankly disgustingly cute and insulting - to a centuries-old Vampire - nickname.

"I want them back safely in their homes, unharmed. And if you dare hurt them - I'll personally make sure nothing is left of your mother but a rotting corpse." Nova finished her threat idly, ignoring the highly amused Salvatore on her right she watched as her goading worked.

And more importantly, she did succeed in wiping the smirk off from Anna's face, and in its place came the anger.

Logically, Nova knew that Anna was just doing whatever she could to get her mother back, and she couldn't find fault in that. In fact somewhere deep down past the anger, she thought it was sweet how much Annabelle was doing to get her mother back.

But, emotionally, she quite frankly didn't give two shits as it seemed that Anna thought that kidnapping her friends would bring her closer to getting her family reunion.

This wasn't a good versus evil scenario, this was just two people doing whatever it took to get the people they loved back.

"...Or I could go and tell your little friends what you two did to get the council off Damon and Stefan's backs," Anna eventually spoke up, anger in her eyes which were now faintly crimson.

Damon stilled beside the teen, suddenly not so amused by the verbal fight going on as it became clear just how much Anna had been stalking them.

"Yes, Damon," Anna had seen him tense and continued with an intense glare aimed at both of them, her words came out low and threatening. "I saw you turn that  _poor_  unsuspecting couple, only to kill them in mere hours. Tell me, Nova Bennett, how willing do you think they'll be to be your friend after they find out it was your idea?"

Everyone at the table was silent for a moment, it was a tense silence that was only cut through by the many noises in the hectic restaurant.

"Did she just threaten us?" Damon suddenly broke the silence, turning to look at Nova in utter bewilderment.

"I think she just did," Nova replied while a smile that was all teeth broke across her face. She watched as Anna eyed them warily, confused and unaware of what she had unintentionally given away.

Nova leaned closer towards the perpetual teen, remaining in eye contact, she began to mentally chant, anger fuelled her Magic as she carefully bound Magic behind the unspoken words;

_Sanguis currit per Annabelle Zhu scriptor venis, veni foras_

"I don't care what they think of me and my very loose morals," Nova replied steadily, keeping her teeth bared and her heartbeat calm as she could despite the fact she was lying her ass off.

_Sanguis in venas, lamia, veni foras_

"What I do care about, is my friends being alive. And you and your mother leaving town -  _tonight_ , if everything goes as planned." Nova continued, the parody of a smile gone. She watched impassively when Anna raised her hand to her mouth and started to cough.

_Sanguis currit per Annabelle Zhu scriptor venis, veni foras_

Anna's relentless cough got the attention of everyone nearby, but luckily all they did was shoot pitying looks at her and avoid sitting next to their table. Never let it be said that small towns didn't have its uses, Mystic Falls was rarely known to be welcoming to strangers.

_Sanguis in venas, lamia, veni foras_

"You sure doing this here is smart?" Damon questioned casually, but his smirk told her he was thoroughly amused by the misfortune of the older Vampire.

Nova was past caring about discretion at the moment, the lid she had carefully kept on her rage had shattered and the Magic running through her veins begged to be used. "Don't care," Nova responded shortly, the hexed Vampire glared at her, the threat clearly still in her eyes - and that just wouldn't do.

_Sanguis currit per Annabelle Zhu scriptor venis, veni foras_

Anna hurriedly drank some water before trying to speak, only to cough the water back into her glass. And then start furiously coughing up what would be an unhealthy amount of blood if she had been human.

It wasn't a pretty sight. Then again, the spell itself wasn't very nice, it was normally used on Vampires, but since it didn't simply subdue them it wasn't used as much as the pain infliction spell.

The idea was that once the spell was cast, the Vampire would then cough up some - if not all of the human blood they had consumed within the past twenty-four hours.

The twinge of pain that made its way into her skull reminded her that it was time to stop the spell. She let the words stop echoing furiously in her mind and her Magic gradually sank back into her veins.

Nova casually went back to chewing on fries while watching Anna used almost all the napkins at the table to cover up the sight of the blood. "Here you've got a little..." Damon trailed off, helpfully pointing at the blood on her mouth with a suddenly procured handkerchief.

Nova snorted in dark amusement as Anna glared at him, but ultimately she snatched the handkerchief from his grasp. Anna wiped the blood from her mouth just in the nick of time as Jeremy walked over, food and coffee in hand.

"Thanks, Jer!" Nova exclaimed with false enthusiasm, she swiftly stood to take the food and coffee in to-go containers from Jeremy, ignoring when he glanced at the three of them suspiciously.

"It was so nice meeting you,  _Anna-banana_ , I hope we can do this again! Come on, Damon." Nova nodded at the entrance of the restaurant, hoping her eyes conveyed her need to speak with him.

She didn't wait for him to follow, deciding to start walking away from the table before she did something stupid - like kill someone within public view, prison orange wasn't her color.

"I hope you feel better, you should get that cough checked out." Nova's coffee cup hid her smile when she heard Damon speak to Anna in badly hidden false concern.

* * *

"Remind me to never get on your bad side," Damon stated while they walked out the restaurant, making her chuckle softly.

"Too late," Nova quipped without a beat, grabbing her phone, restless energy making her movements appear frantic, which she was, and her phone nearly paid the price when she almost dropped it twice.

Nova abruptly paused near an empty outdoor table, nearly bumping into Damon while she set her food and coffee down.

"Okay.. so, I have a question," Nova started hesitantly as they sat down, she glanced at the door to the restaurant, rationally paranoid, but the coffee probably didn't help.

"Shoot," Damon responded easily, his hand moved to touch her liquid ambrosia but she viciously slapped it away.

Nova held her coffee to her chest protectively, ignoring his mock hurt look, she continued quietly, "What Anna said about her seeing you turn those people... Where did you exactly turn them?" She didn't say it outright, paranoid about being overheard.

Blessedly, Damon wasn't a total idiot and caught on to where she was going with this, his eyes lighting up into a realization of his own. "The bed and breakfast," Damon answered simply, rudely starting to eat her food.

But Nova ignored everything but her cell phone, hurriedly calling her sister. She practically vibrated in the chair, impatiently listening to the ringing.  _"Did you find anything?"_  Bonnie wasted no time questioning, confirming Nova's suspicions that the tracking spells still weren't working.

Nova would love to know how Anna,  _a_   _Vampire_ , managed to block two Witches from tracking her best friends. She would like to how Anna knew it was her that planned that little show to keep the Council off the Salvatores messy trail. She would love to know a lot about the differences about how Anna was doing things - but the information she had right now was more important.

"Yes," Nova replied immediately, she heard her twin sigh in relief and internally agreed with the sentiment before she began quietly explaining exactly who took them and why.

"We think that Anna might have gotten a room at the bed and breakfast. It's a long shot that she would keep them there, but it's worth checking out." Nova spoke absently, glancing over at the sound of doors opening, she only relaxed when she saw it was only a waiter.

 _"Got it. I'll let you know if we find them. See you at the church?"_  Bonnie questioned with the sound of hurried movement in the background.

"Yeah. See you." Nova confirmed simply before hanging up, staring blankly at her phone. She sighed tiredly, reaching over to take her food back before the immortal asshole ate all of it.

Now the waiting game, she thought with an impatient frown, biting furiously into her burger. She wished she could be there to rescue her friends, but she knew they were better off keeping a look out for when Anna decided to go back to wherever she was staying.

She had no doubts about her sister's power, but she would rather not risk it with a centuries-old Vampire who happened to hang out with Katherine fucking Pierce back in the day.

Twenty minutes later, she glanced around in time to catch the sight of Jeremy running out the restaurant and in the direction of the school and a few minutes later, Anna exited at a more sedate pace, thankfully going in the opposite direction.

Nova immediately grabbed her phone and sent off a warning text to her sister, urging her to hurry up if she didn't want to have to fight off a centuries year old Vampire - she couldn't even remember how old Anna and Pearl were, but really fucking old sufficed as accurate.

Nova was exhausted in more ways than one, but when Anna's eyes locked onto them, she couldn't resist wiggling of her fingers at the other girl, adding another teeth-baring smile. She saw from the corner of her eye that Damon was also waving mockingly.

Ah, so brilliant minds do think alike.

* * *

Hiking was a bitch.

Repeat, hiking is a bitch and an asshole.

It wasn't the earth itself that bothered Nova - no she loved the earth as much as she did her Magic, which was a lot. It wasn't the bugs that kept finding its way into her hair - although that was annoying and somewhat disgusting to her sense of hygiene.

No, it was the physical part that made her want to tear someone's throat out with her teeth.

Other than the occasional run when she was stressed and cheerleading - which she hasn't done in a while because apparently without the football team cheerleading was deemed useless, ironic considering they cheered better than the team played but getting the principal to actually see cheerleading as a sport was proving impossible for even Caroline Forbes - she actually wasn't a very athletic person.

Sure, she explored the forest as every other kid in Mystic Fall did because what else was there to do in a small town?

But she was an art person, a nerd person, a lazy person who could and would lay down and read Grimoires all day if it weren't for her much more sociable and active friends.

Not to mention, she internally added while glaring at the leather jacket wearing asshole in front of her, Damon had decided to set a grueling pace that was determined to kill her, again. "Why can't you just give me another piggyback ride?" Nova didn't whine - that was a blatant lie, she totally whined like a child who didn't get the last scoop of ice cream.

"We might miss it if I use my 'superman' speed, the church isn't exactly brand new - besides that, I'm not a mule," Damon added with a pointed glare, which she shrugged it off with an unapologetic smile that turned into a grimace.

Damon paused when she slowed down to readjust the heavy bag on her shoulder for the millionth time. He sighed dramatically before striding over and snatching the large satchel from her grip.

Nova groaned in relief, feeling five pounds lighter, she started rolling her shoulders as they started walking again. She paused again three minutes later as her phone buzzed in her combat boots, she groaned leaning down to grab it. She stared blankly at the text her sister sent her, her eyes roaming over the text message for a solid minute.

"What is it now?" Damon questioned with an annoyed frown when he was forced to turn stop, again.

"They found them," Nova heard herself reply, still staring at the text before a genuine smile broke out across her face.

_'We found them! I'll tell you the details later. - Bonnie'_

With renewed energy, that was only fuelled by her happiness, they continued at a much faster pace, the sunlight illuminating the way through the autumn trees.

Thank fuck, she thought thirty minutes later, speeding up even more when she spotted crumbling stone walls in the distance.

"Know where the super secret entrance is?" Nova turned to question the Vampire when they were right next to the crumbling structure, she didn't dare step on the fragile ground of the church, randomly remembering Bonnie falling into it in what now had to be another universe.

Turns out he did, in fact, know where the entrance was - she really should have expected nothing less from the guy who has been obsessed with opening the damn thing for quite literally a hundred of years. Nova followed him towards the entrance, she took her satchel back from him while he quickly cleared the debris blocking the stairs.

She carefully walked down the unblocked stairs, looking around the Tomb in fascination while she settled down next to the stairs in a loose lotus position on the dust-covered stone ground.

"I don't think I've asked. But what are you planning on doing with the other vampires in the tomb?" Damon interrupted her musings, she looked over to see him lazing on the steps like a cat.

She turned back to her brown leather satchel, slipping the leather from the buckle from it she flipped it open, answering dryly, "Didn't think you cared about anyone other than Katherine."

"Just curious,"

"I'm going to sacrifice them to my pet demon," Nova deadpanned without breaking eye contact, her face deadly serious and voice unwavering.

She burst out into giggles when he narrowed his eyes at her in actual suspicion, her laugh caused him to roll his eyes when he realized she was in fact joking. Though, she did  _technically_  have a pet, one that was considered a demon Spirit in animal form in like nearly every culture.

"Not gonna miss that when I finally leave this town," Damon stated over the sound of her continued laughter.

She exhaled and tried not to show how hard those words hit her over her head like a hammer, she was forced to hide her panic with a words had reminded her that Katherine was in fact not in the Tomb and she would be dealing with a heartbroken and possibly furious Damon after tonight.

She was such a fucking idiot sometimes, she thought furiously but was outwardly calm, for the most part, but it could be blamed on about a thousand other things going on in her life. "I'm fucking amazing. Of course, you'll miss me and my lame ass jokes." Nova scoffed loudly, she smiled softly when no protests or denials reached her ears.

She set down her grey and black granite pestle and mortar in the middle of her legs, lamenting the fact she didn't think to ask Bonnie to do this at Grams house. Damon hovered curiously behind her while she added the ingredients in the mortar based on memory alone since her sister currently had the Grimoire.

Lapis lazuli pigment would protect them from the corruption of the Soul as it protected them from the sun, she thought skeptically while pouring all of the blue power into the mortar. She was  _mostly_  only skeptical because not only was it expensive - it had been a dick and a half to find online and when it finally did arrive it was only a pinch full, she felt swindled.

Hyssop for the cleansing of the Spirit, she mused twisting the cap off the bottle, she inhaled the scent the herb gave off before sprinkling the carefully cut purple herb on top of the vividly blue powder.

Dead but not yet crushed flowers that represent Vampires undead state, she pulled the flowers from their protective paper and proceeded to carefully pull the flowers from their stem, letting them drop into the mortar.

Thyme to give the Souls safe passage to the afterlife, she spat out the large cork on the vial and poured out half of the thinly cut herb.

Lavender oil to give the Soul peace, humming in content when the smell reached her nose she carefully squeezed four drops from the oils eye dropper.

By the time she finished grinding it all together, her wrist was sore, her butt was beyond numb and legs were definitely asleep.

Damon had grown bored of watching her silently grounding shit up and instead watched the boulder that blocked the entrance of the Tomb like the lovesick fool he is - watching what Katherine does to him without even trying made her want to word vomit, or just vomit.

Nova kept quiet, knowing it would be easier to believe Katherine's lies if he saw it for himself. She struggled not to sigh at her thoughts, gathering the mortar in her tired hands she peered down at the color to make sure she had gotten it right.

Was it supposed to smell so good yet look so disgusting, she mused staring at the purple and green mush it had turned out to be.

Nova was startled out of her musings by the sound of someone coming down the uneven stone steps. She hurriedly untangled herself from the floor, wary yet eager she watched the entrance, from the corner of her eyes, she spotted Damon cautiously coming to stand next to her.

"Settle down, it's only me." Grams announced her presence as she finally stepped down into the cave-like area, sensing the tension.

Sheila eyed the Vampire that stood next Nova with a hostile glare that melted when she set her eyes on her granddaughter, "Hi, honey." Grams' greeting somehow managed to casually knock down all of her emotional barriers.

Nova's Soul was older than her body, she was more mature than all of the kids in her school put together. But she had always and will always be just a little starved for attention. And despite the facade she wore, she wasn't used to this  _'Live or Die'_  life. She was better at the dying part than making sure she and her loved ones got out of this shithole alive part.

After the day she's had, could anyone really blame her for collapsing into Grams open arms?

Grams held her with a firm and reassuring grip, the scent of jasmine and red wine washed over her and comforted her in a way she hadn't needed to comforted since she was nine. Nova was surprised when a few tears escaped - she was seriously emotionally repressed, okay? - but she was too tired to fight them and instead watched through blurred vision as they rapidly hit the elder woman's cardigan.

After who knew how long, Nova heard something shift in the background and suddenly remembering where she was and who she was with, she reluctantly pulled herself away from the warm hug.

"Sorry about your cardigan, rough day," Nova tried to make light of it all, but she thinks the sniffling and stray tear ruined her tough girl image - oh well, it was a lost cause anyway she lamented with feigned sadness.

"I'm more concerned about your wellbeing than this old thing. Now, tell me, how are you holding up, sweetheart?" Grams asked with stern eyes that told Nova wouldn't be getting away with anything less than an honest answer.

Both Bennett women ignored the Vampire shuffling behind them, "I feel terrible - but I'll be okay once this is all over with," Nova replied simply but honestly, glancing down she noticed she was still holding the mortar in a death grip.

Nova smiled sheepishly when the elder Witch followed her gaze, she idly wondered if she had gotten the recipe right - that would be even more embarrassing.

"I'm sure you'll feel better when you see your friends," Grams replied with a knowing smile before changing the subject, "You mixed it up perfectly, and without the Grimoire too. Have you spelled it yet?"

Nova was totally back to being convinced Sheila Bennett was a mindreader. "No, not yet," Nova shook her head, following Grams like a lost puppy when the elder Witch walked towards where the teenager had set up her stuff.

"Well, then. We'll say it together then?" Grams offered, taking the mixture from her hands and placing it on the nearest flat surface which happened to be a loose stone jutting out of the wall.

Damon got tired of being ignored and cleared his throat and that had to be a record, she thought he must really be afraid of Grams because it usually only took him seconds to invite himself into a conversation.

Nova turned to face the Vampire, snorting when she saw her Familiar had somehow managed to wrap himself around Damon's neck. "When can I expect this thing to actually get opened?" Damon questioned with a scowl that was absolutely demolished when Merlin casually smacked his face with his fluffy black tail.

Nova moved forward with undaunted steps at Damon's venomous glare when she started chuckling. She let Grams answer while she successfully coaxed a stubborn Merlin from Damon's shoulder and into her arms.

"Nightfall. We should be able to cast the spell easier with the added power of the full moon tonight. Patience is key to dealing with magic,  _vampire_." Grams added almost chidingly when Damon made a face at the thought of staying here for hours.

"I think I'll go get a snack," Damon bravely - in her opinion - announced to the two Witches, moving up the steps when he was finally free from the fur that had decided to try to take a nap on his shoulders.

"Try not to kill anyone - or get yourself killed!" Nova added, shouting at his retreating back, she rolled her eyes at his dismissive backhanded wave.

Lifting her messy curls up with one hand so Merlin could climb onto her shoulders, she idly wondered if she was bipolar with how many mood swings she's had today.


	21. Magical Reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magic, some magic, more magic and then emotional reveals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, let us take these five seconds of the author note to mourn Polyvore, the ultimate website for creative souls. *sobs* Okay, I'm done being an emotional mess. *lie*
> 
> I have a few things that I wanna talk about for the people who've asked. First, ships; I will mostly follow the canon ships, most of them will be happening differently and ending differently. And as for Nova, well she's going to have a lot of sex, a few serious relationships, and one major endgame relationship, none of which I can tell you about in detail, spoilers, darlings.
> 
> Two.. character birthdays. Hahaha, I fucking missed Caroline's birthday, I think it was the time jump that fucked me up, and the fact they never addressed it in the show until she died, but, um, oops? I've changed the timeline so much that I just don't use the scripts that often, but I'll try to get that sorted better.
> 
> Thirdly and finally, I have no idea how long this story is gonna be, but I hope you're all up for the ride because shit gonna get crazy long!
> 
> Also, since Polyvore is gone, I'll be using Pinterest to gather items, collages to put them together

The two Bennett Witches chose to wait until Bonnie arrived to cast the spell on the mixture that would be needed for the minor ritual they would perform on the desiccated Vampires. Even though Bonnie had given Grams the Grimoire before she and Stefan went to rescue the girls, they couldn't do much but sit and wait until the sun went down.

So the grandmother-granddaughter duo settled on the uncomfortable stone steps and began talking about nothing in particular, both of them made sure they avoided heavy topics for the moment.

It didn't take long before Grams noticed her granddaughter's hair, which was in utter disarray from taking the Salvatore Express.

Merlin had to be set down from Nova's shoulders as the elder woman started pulling Nova's curls out of her face and into a frizzy but pretty french braid. Nova kept herself busy by reading Emily's Grimoire, the only light coming into the Tomb was from the now sparse sunlight coming from above the stairs.

It was strange not to hear any birds chirping or deer foraging, but the downright ominous energy surrounding the Tomb was probably felt and kept the more intelligent animals at bay.

She wasn't sure how many hours had passed as they flipped through the Grimoire when a sound that wasn't Merlin's oddly relaxed purring reached her ears.

"Tell me again why we had to drag this stuff around out to the middle of nowhere? I mean,  _seriously_? We were kidnapped, by  _vampires_! We'll probably end up traumatized - do you feel traumatized, Elena?!" Nova heard a very familiar voice ranting from nearby, giving no one time to answer her questions.

Nova shared an excited smile with Grams before she smoothly settled Merlin down from her lap before running out the Tomb. Elena didn't get to respond to Caroline's somewhat hysterical question because Nova chose that moment to run through the bushes covering the back entrance and towards them at full speed.

Nova just barely managed to stop herself from crashing into her sister, but she did slightly twist her ankle skidding to a stop next to the startled group. She ignored the minor pain in her ankle, eyeing the two teenagers with observant eyes that said she would make good on her threats to Anna if she found one goddamn bruise on them.

Caroline looked like she had spent the last few hours crying, but other than that she looked fine, cheerful even. Elena had been the most startled when Nova had run out into the open, but she was also appeared unharmed - if a bit jumpy.

"They're fine, just exhausted. They, uh, asked to come along and we could hardly say no to them after everything they've been through," Stefan answered every question the reincarnated teenager had silently asked but hadn't expected to be answered, least of all from him.

Huh, apparently she was easier to read when she was anxious and only running on one cup of coffee, she thought absently.

"Oh my god, Nova - you look terrible," Caroline blurted out, despite the slightly rude statement, there was only concern in the blonde's eye and so Nova only snorted in amusement. She relaxed at the familiar sight of Elena lightly hitting Caroline's shoulder with an admonishing frown, the gesture had to be instinctual by now.

"Funny, I was about to tell the two of you the same thing. Is that a pimple, Care?" Nova vaguely pointed out with an exaggerated gasp, she bit her lip to hide her grin. Everyone watched in amusement as Caroline immediately went to hesitantly touch her face with a panicked look in her blue eyes.

"Joking,"

"Rude," Caroline returned with a scoff, but a slight smile grew on her face as she suggested eagerly, "Group hug?"

"I could definitely use a hug," Bonnie replied with a nod, already squeezing her arm around Nova's shoulders while the eldest twin made eye contact with her brunette best friend.

Nova returned the hug but nervously shifted as she remembered that the last time they had spoken Elena had been angry with her for not telling her that she was Katherine's lookalike.

She felt like shit for not forcing Stefan to tell his girlfriend that she looks exactly like his ex-lover down to the last hair follicle. But it still didn't change the fact Nova didn't think it would've been right to be the one to tell her; there was some information that just shouldn't be told by her.

"Group hug," Elena agreed with a genuine smile that spoke forgiveness and that Nova was silly for even thinking otherwise.

It was hilarious, in another universe she had contemplated the fact she would have never been able to be friends with Elena Gilbert, the character. Only for her to become one of Elena Gilbert's -  _the person_  - best friends in the next life. The joys of bonding over books, she thought with a returning smile.

"If we're going to do this try not to suffocate me like last time," Nova said quickly, already squished between her sister and her blonde best friend.

Nova caught Stefan subtly moving towards the Tomb entrance, she called out to the sneaking Vampire over the sound of her friends' laughter. "It's called a group hug for a reason!"

"I, uh, don't do group hugs." Stefan tried to protest but was pulled into the hug by Elena and her big brown pleading eyes, it was fucking comical how quickly he caved then.

Let it never be said that hugs weren't Magical, she couldn't help but be super corny by thinking that being surrounded by people she cared about and who cared about her in return was just about the most Magical thing that would happen in her life.

"Well, isn't this just cozy."

Nova could hear everyone let out collective groans and sighs at the sound of Damon's voice, she was impressed but mostly amused by how his mere presence got that reaction from everyone.

"Damon... where have you been?" Stefan questioned tensely, eyeing his brother suspiciously as the group hug abruptly ended.

"Getting these, for Katherine," Damon explained, pulling two blood bags from his leather jacket, waving them tauntingly at a stone-faced Stefan. He continued with a smirk aimed at the girls, who watched their interaction with undisguised interest. "Unless one of you girls want to tap a vein?"

The girls in question all gave him varying looks that were mostly unamused with a hint of disgust. Stefan clenched his jaw at the callous remark and watched his smirking brother uneasily.

Nova looked around and noticed that the sun was finally going down, clapping her hands to draw attention to herself she spoke with an easy-going grin to disperse the tension Damon's comment had caused. "Okay then, now that Damon's done with his trademark asshole comments - let's get this show on the road."

Stefan picked up a couple of the unlit wooden torches the group had brought. With one more warning look at his brother, he moved to take them into the back entrance of the Tomb he had spotted Nova exit. Somehow, Nova managed to get Damon to take the last two torches down.

Elena and Caroline picked up the things that had been discarded on the ground during the group hug; there were two flashlights, an old wooden bowl, and a dagger, all taken from Grams home.

Caroline handed the twins the bowl and dagger, both the brunette and the blonde threw an incredulous glance at the dagger before following the twins down the steps and into the Tomb with only the flashlights they held as a source of light.

Once the twins placed the items in their hands down, they took notice of the pentagram Grams had drawn on the ground in the center of the room. It was identical to the pentagram that was engraved into the stone door of the Tomb and it would be needed in the first of many spells they would be doing tonight.

The three Bennett Witches gravitated towards each other in the middle of the room. Everyone else quietly stayed on the highest fringes of the room, next to the unlit torches that were strategically placed around the Tomb.

Grams handed the Grimoire to the twins for them to look over before they started, both of them could feel Merlin brushing up near their feet as they scanned the page.

"I guess we'll start now?" Nova said after a few minutes, she stared questioningly towards her twin, who nodded nervously in response before placing the Grimoire out of the pentagram. Merlin was hesitantly allowed to stay inside the chalk-drawn pentagram, if only because the Familiar would probably add more energy to the spell than fuck it up.

" _Air_ ," Bonnie breathed out, the room became even colder as a breeze from outside reached into the depths of the Tomb.

" _Earth_ ," Sheila continued steadily with a shift of her feet, only the Witches casting the spell and the Vampires with enhanced senses could feel the very slight trembling beneath their feet.

" _Fire_ ," Nova said simply, her eyes closed as she focused on the image of the four torches strategically placed around the room igniting, by the sound of her friends' startled gasps she had succeeded.

Nova pulled a plastic bottle of water from her satchel, she removed the cap before handing it to Grams. " _Water_ ," Sheila finished off listing the elements as she sprinkled water over the pentagram.

"That's it? Just water from the tap?" Elena questioned incredulously, she cringed in embarrassment when her words echoed.

"As opposed to what?" Grams inquired with a raised brow, handing the empty bottle back to her eldest granddaughter.

"Well, I don't know. I kinda thought it would be like... blessed, or something." Caroline piped up from next to the doppelganger, the question was warranted considering how much Supernatural they all watch.

Elena nodded in agreement, the blonde's remark made Grams amused if the smirk on her face was anything to go by.

"Only for powerful sacrifices," Nova couldn't help but comment before throwing the empty water bottle back into the leather satchel.

"I - I can't tell if you're joking or not," Elena said after a beat of silence, but the reincarnated teen didn't answer the question and just smiled mysteriously at her friend.

The moment of amusement ended for them when someone walked down the stairs and into the Tomb. " _Anna-banana_ , how gracious of you to join us," Nova said when it looked like no one else would speak up, she ignored the warning look Grams gave her that told her to tread carefully - it was a little too late for that.

"I don't want any trouble. I just want my mother back," Anna told them pleadingly, she dangled Emily's talisman in front of her as a peace offering.

Annabelle clenched her jaw in frustration when no one said anything. Everyone who cared about Elena was on edge when the eldest Vampire in the Tomb aimed a glare her. "I could always give my friend the okay to kill your brother, newborn vampires are always so hungry." Anna threatened the doppelganger.

Nearly all of them reacted to the threat, everyone started talking over each other, but Elena was the one who broke the commotion with her yell."What did you do to him?! What did you do to Jeremy!?" Elena demanded to know, pure terror in her brown eyes - but not for herself, but for her little brother.

"Jeremy's safe at home. And will continue breathing... as long as I leave this place with my mother, unharmed, by the end of the night," Anna added coolly, watching them all warily in case one of them decided to attack.

"...What a manipulative bitch," Caroline said in disbelief, she didn't bother whispering, either not caring or knowing it would be useless.

Anna aimed a venomous glare at the blonde that was ruined when she suddenly flinched. When she hadn't been looking, Nova had strode over quietly and viciously snatched the talisman from Anna's still outstretched fingertips.

Nova ran her fingers over the amber colored talisman that practically radiated Magic. Ignoring everyone else, she eyed it suspiciously as she remembered a few things that had previously slipped her mine.

One thing she remembered writing down about this 'Emily Bennett Spirit' business was that whenever... the other Bonnie had tried to throw it away, it had always found its way back to her, pronto.

Another thing was that, despite the fact that Katherine always made sure to look out for herself first, the Vampire had made genuine friendships and relationships.

The third and last thing wasn't something she could remember, but she assumed that Annabelle and Emily would have become somewhat close, trailing after assumingly big personalities like Katherine and Pearl.

They could have been close enough for Emily to let Annabelle keep her talisman for leverage, however minor. Besides, whose to say it wasn't Emily who kept Anna safe from being locked in the Tomb?

It's always the quiet ones that are most observant, she reflected as she handed her sister the talisman. And the ones in the background that no one pays attention to that you needed to be wary of.

Because they were the ones who had dirt on  _everyone_  she added mentally with a speculative glance at an annoyed Anna, who clutched her bleeding hand that was now healing from the cut she had acquired from Nova's petty viciousness.

Oh well, Nova supposed purposing an alliance with Anna was off the table considering she made the Vampire puke up her lunch.  _Oops_ , she thought sarcastically.

"We'll open the tomb, and you can get your mother on the condition you stay silent and don't get in our way,  _vampire_." Grams stated with a no-nonsense expression on her features, somehow making the word Vampire sound like a curse.

Anna nodded at the terms easily enough and moved off to the side, she reluctantly stood next Damon as he was the only one who didn't send her death glares.

Bonnie set the talisman in the middle of the pentagram, the Witches could immediately feel the energy added.

Power wouldn't be an issue tonight, it was honestly ridiculous how much power they had at their fingertips; the celestial power of the full moon, a feline Familiar whose power was mostly unexplored, a talisman previously owned by a powerful Witch - and not to mention their own Magic.

But whether their human bodies could handle the amount of Magic needed tonight was another thing entirely.

The Bennett Witches gathered in the middle of the pentagram, the talisman at their feet, they shared a glance before linking hands in a loose circle. Nova shivered when she felt the combined Magic strengthening their own and then connecting them, she closed her eyes at the same time as her twin.

 _"Phasmatos salves nas ex malon, terra mora vantis quo incandis, et vasa quo ero signos."_  The three of them chanted, carefully channeling the combined energies.

Nova could hear murmured conversations in the background, but she was too absorbed on focusing the channeled Magic on the seal placed on the stone hindering them from entering the actual Tomb.

The Bennett Witches slowly untangled their hands when they heard the Tomb unsealing with an audible creak.

Nova could feel something lessening over her Soul, it was as though a weight she hadn't known was there was lifted from her shoulders and she could finally breathe again. She sighed at her jumbled feelings, happiness that she wouldn't be killed by Nature, the excitement that she had succeeded with the spell, worried because now Damon was free to terrorize her friends.

Nova's her brown eyes quickly sought out Damon's similarly conflicted blue eyes; it was official, their deal was finished, the Tomb was open and Nature had released them from its grip.

"It worked," Bonnie announced excitedly, grinning at her twin, the success of their first serious spell along with the borrowed Magic still racing through their veins made them feel heady.

"Of course it worked," Grams replied dryly, but there was a smile on her face as she proudly looked at her granddaughters.

Anna wasted no time pushing the stone door open and stealing a torch before rushing in, and no one bothered stopping her. But Nova nearly tripped over her own two feet to stop Damon from following with a hand on his leather-clad shoulder. "Hold it, Spike."

Damon grudgingly halted at the entrance and turned towards her with raised eyebrows telling her to get on with it. "What is it, Willow?" he questioned impatiently, he anxiously started tapping the blood bag against his palm.

By the time he found out Katherine wasn't even in the Tomb and got over the fact she had never been in the fucking Tomb - they would have the seal that kept Vampires from exiting removed, but she couldn't help but want to delay the inevitable of that shit show.

She had briefly thought about letting him rot in the Tomb, but she liked the asshole and had spent way too much time and Magic making them allies to throw it away just because she was hesitant to face him after the Tomb drama.

So, the truth it was.

"Unsealing the door was the easy part. There's still another seal, placed on the Tomb itself from keeping vampires from exiting." Nova explained simply, releasing his shoulder when he got the message that him going in there right now would be stupid.

"And of course Emily didn't think to mention this little detail when we made our deal.  _Witches_." Damon said with an annoyed huff, apparently picking up Grams habit of saying species as an insult.

The not so subtle but honestly mild for him insult got him glares from all three Witches in the room. He shook the glares off with practiced ease and impatiently waved at them to hurry it up and do the spell.

The twins were the only ones who knew how, so while they worked on the second, more complicated seal, the elder Witch began working on finishing up the mixture needed for the final spell that they would be doing tonight.

"Ready?" Nova asked her twin as they stood in front of the opened Tomb, both of them cautiously eyeing the eerie darkness that lay ahead of them.

"Yeah," Bonnie answered determinedly before reaching out and taking her twin's hand, the talisman clutched between their joined hands.

Nova and Bonnie raised their unoccupied hands towards the open space in front of them. They could feel the telltale slight quiver that came with seal work, it was something only experienced Witches or really old Vampires felt, like Original Vampire old. And though they were powerful and skilled for their age, the twins weren't that experienced and neither were they Original Vampires.

But the spell was made by Emily Bennett and they were Bennett Witches. So, of course, they could feel the Magic of one of their own, humming powerfully near their fingertips.

They tuned out the whispers behind them, closing their eyes and focused their Magic on the seal, internally they began to chant;  _Ut in potentia signaculum hoc esse explicetur, accipe potestatem._

To the twins, it felt like hours of them mentally reciting the spell, but it really only took five minutes before they managed to remove the seal. Instead of trying to get rid of the Magic behind the powerful seal, they focused on guiding the leftover energy towards Emily's talisman.

Somehow they succeeded, and within minutes the talisman welcomed the familiar Magic with open - and metaphorical - arms.

Nova blinked rapidly as she opened her eyes, looking around with bleary eyes, she felt dizzy and like she could sleep for a century, or two. She looked over at her twin and saw that Bonnie still had her eyes closed with her free hand now pressed against her no doubt pounding head.

Nova gently squeezed the hand still in hers, after a moment she felt her sister squeeze back in a silent reassurance that she was okay for the most part.

"Okay, let's do this shit," Nova announced with a tired sigh, unknowingly cutting off the conversation between the Salvatore brothers.

"Great," Damon stated simply, gifting his younger brother with a smirk, he grabbed one of the lit torches and strode into the now thoroughly de-spelled Tomb.

"...Are you guys okay?" Elena questioned while she used the wall to slide up from the ground, startling the twins as they realized their best friends had joined them by the entrance.

"Yeah, just a little overwhelmed by the magic put into... everything," Bonnie began to sound less like she was about to collapse and more like she was amazed by the fortress that Emily had built.

Nova was also impressed, but she also had one more spell to finish and she really wanted to go to sleep, like, yesterday.

Nova saw that Bonnie had a minor nosebleed, ignoring the fact she was still seeing double of everything, pointed in the vague direction of her twin and spoke - slurred - sternly, "Stay here with Caroline and Elena."

Bonnie wiped the blood from her nose and stared at her twin, looking her features over to attempt to see if she was actually being serious. She rolled her eyes when she figured out her sister was, in fact, being serious, she walked past her on surprisingly steady legs to take the now spelled and bottled mixture from the ever amused Grams.

"We're doing this together, or not at all," Bonnie said resolutely, shooting her sister a look that said she was being dull to even think otherwise, and without another word, she walked into the Tomb.

Nova ignored the amusement on her friends' faces and walked forward to grab the second colorful vial from Grams' palm, leaving the third and final vial for the elder Witch.

"Grams?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Why are the three of us so stubborn?"

"Isn't it obvious? It runs in the family, honey."

* * *

Nova swallowed nervously when she felt the prickling feeling of eyes watching her as soon as they entered what was the equivalent of a Vampires nest.

She was suddenly grateful that Stefan had offered, insisted really, to escort them into the Tomb, extra man-woman-power, and all that jazz. Merlin had been left behind with Caroline and Elena so that if anyone decided to randomly attack them Nova would immediately know.

The only thing that kept Nova from jumping ten feet in the air when someone wandered next to her from the unlit part of the Tomb was the fact she had felt Bonnie's Magic before she had seen her.

"So, how are we doing this? How does this spell work?" Stefan questioned when they stopped across from the first desiccated Vampire, who was splayed out right next to the entrance.

"It was made a very long time ago for the rare supernatural who wanted peace and didn't want to be stuck on the other side after they died. It was eventually found by the wrong kind of people and abused. But, thankfully the spell  _mysteriously_  disappeared before it could do much damage." Sheila lectured honestly to the curious Vampire, but all the while she cast a wary looked around the Tomb.

"Other side?"

Nova pulled out three small and thin paintbrushes from her leather satchel and handed it to her nervous sister while Grams explained what the Other Side was to a confused Stefan.

"Could you flip over the body so we can begin?" Nova interrupted the mostly finished lecture, motioning with her hands towards the awkwardly splayed body.

Stefan nodded at the request and, handing the torch off to Sheila, he quickly turned over the sad case that the desiccated Vampire was, with his clothes in tatters and one of his hands stretched out towards the now open Tomb door.

All of them nearly had a heart attack when they came face to face with the desiccated Vampire, whose eyes were wide open and manically watching them. Okay, that's super creepy, the twins thoughts unknowingly echoed each other.

Nova decided she had enough of gawking and uncorked the vial in her hand, she dropped the paintbrush into the vial before plopping down next to the desiccated Vampire. She ignored the killer stare aimed at her jugular and quietly worked on placing the sigil on his cracked and ashen forehead.

The sigil was actually made by joint efforts between the twins, it was an eternity symbol cut off in the middle by a triangle; the eternity symbol represented the Vampires immortality and the triangle symbolized the three Witches performing the ritual that would end said 'immortality'.

They opted out using Emily's sigil, but only because runes and sigils were less about precision and more about the individual actually believing in the purposes behind them. That was why it was  _mostly_  safer to create one that you believed would work than relying on someone else's work.

Though some of them were just so universally known that it wasn't needed to completely make your own. Like the peace sign, the eternity symbol - and the pentagram, which could represent multiple things, but in witchcraft, it mostly represented the five elements.

Needless to say, sigils and runes were really complicated. But without Magic behind the runes and sigils, they were just really pretty markings.

The Bennett women continued through the Tomb as fast as they could, taking turns drawing the sigil with Stefan keeping a vigilant guard behind them.

Turns out Stefan guarding them wasn't a total waste of his chivalry. But, in all seriousness, Nova would be forever grateful that he saved Bonnie's life when the teenager leaned too close and one of the Vampires had tried to get a little frisky with her not completely cleaned nosebleed.

The farther they wandered into the Tomb, the more they could hear a commotion. Stefan's head tilted towards the noise in question, the torch in his grip lit up his brooding features.

Nova huffed in annoyance when raised voices screwed with her concentration and nearly caused her to fuck up the sigil. She traded a look with her sister and they switched places with Bonnie painting the sigil onto one of the few female desiccated Vampires they had found.

Nova lightly tapped her boot-clad foot on Stefan's own boot, he turned his head towards her in with an inquiring look. "We're about done here, so you're free to go save your brother from doing stupid shit... Could you please go save your brother from doing stupid shit?" She rephrased it as a question giving him an imploring look when he still looked hesitant to leave them alone.

"I'll be right back," Stefan promised them, he handed the wooden torch to the reincarnated teen before rushing to help his wayward brother.

Nova contemplated if she should run before Damon realized she had known - he would know as soon as he saw her face, she wasn't very good at covering up guilt -, but she shrugged off the idea as useless before leaning the torch closer to Bonnie for her sister's convenience.

* * *

Nova hadn't been lying when she said they were nearly finished, it only took them seven more minutes before they finished up marking the last three desiccated Vampires with the sigils. They decided to find their way out of the Tomb, since starting the ritual near the pentagram would make it more powerful.

"Where is Stefan... and Damon?" Elena questioned as soon she noticed that only the three women exited the Tomb, she walked up towards them with worry in her brown eyes, a worried but mostly tired Caroline walked over by her side with Merlin in her arms.

Grams silently held up her phone for her granddaughters to see, she smirked when both cringed when they saw their father's name on the missed calls screen. The elder Witch silently left the Tomb and went outside in hopes of getting a better cell reception.

"We heard an argument further into the Tomb. Stefan went to check it out. I'm assuming Damon isn't crazy enough to argue with himself so..." Nova trailed off, leaving the other two girls to put two and two together as she rummaged through her satchel, trying to find the last ingredient needed for the ritual.

"So... Damon decided that the best reunion gift would be to argue with Katherine?" Caroline asked hesitantly, confused when Nova shook her head but didn't elaborate.

"More like he probably figured out Katherine isn't in the tomb and decided to take it on the next innocent person he saw," Bonnie replied when her sister didn't, the twins both shrugged at their friends shocked expressions.

"Well, that explains why Anna left with her mother in such a hurry," Elena said with a sigh, which alarmed the twins considering they hadn't seen anyone pass them.

It was weird they never even felt Anna pass, Nova thought while exchanging a glance with her sister - though, she mentally added, they were surrounded by twenty-five other Vampires.

"Wait - so, if Katherine isn't in the tomb, where the hell is she?" Elena asked with a furrowed brow, she exchanged looks with an equally perplexed Caroline.

"I don't know. But if I were her, I'd be in another country by now 'cause from what we could hear - Damon did not sound happy." Bonnie replied before shooting the open Tomb a wary look, as though his name would summon him.

"Wow... So, Damon waited for like a bazillion years to rescue her and turns out she just ditched him like a pair of out of style shoes. I kinda feel bad for him," Caroline told them empathically, her features twisted in disgust when she realized who she felt sympathetic towards, she quickly added with a decisive nod. "Okay, I'm over it now."

Nova snorted before she went back to searching in her satchel. This time she actually looked where she was putting her hand and eventually pulled out the smudge sticks with a triumphant grin.

"That lasted for what? Five seconds?" Elena teased her blonde friend, though she seemed a little lost by Caroline's sudden dislike of the raven-haired Vampire when not too long ago she had been interested in getting into his pants.

Nova's curiosity over what happened between Caroline and Damon in the short hour they had spent alone together was mounting. But she didn't get to question how Damon managed to piss off Caroline within the span of an hour.

Grams walked back in a second later, announcing her presence with low but furious mutters that the other occupants only caught parts of. "Narrow-minded idiot - that man - I swear if he wasn't - told that girl not to marry him."

The teenagers watched the fuming woman with wide eyes, wary to poke at the anger radiating off the older woman.

"Uh... Grams? I found the sage..." Nova announced hesitantly, waving the sage around like an idiot.

"Alright, then. Come, girls, let's get this finished." Grams told her granddaughters, aiming a frown at her cell phone before she tucked it away into her pocket. The twins silently but wholeheartedly agreed with the sentiment; magic was wonderful, but it was also fucking exhausting.

"I hope they come back before we finish. Never know with the shoddy translation, it might blow up the tomb." Nova commented dryly, glancing at the eerily quiet entrance Tomb. She was joking, mostly. The spell was completely translated - fuck latin, and double fuck the pig latin Witches created.

Nova had only recently found out from Grams that the spell wasn't even Emily's - so it was either passed down or found by sheer luck. And from what Nova could understand, 'Peace of Soul' was a bullshit way of telling them that you wouldn't be trapped in the misery that was the Other Side. It was bullshit because someone would snatch your Soul up and there was a coin toss on which dimension - or universe - got it.

Despite all its fuckery, the Other Side was essentially a loophole for Supernaturals to come back from the dead.

So, no one really fucked with the spell voluntarily, and the Bennett Witches didn't know what this ritual would do besides making sure the desiccated, and vengeful Vampires wouldn't go to the Other Side - but for all the spells obscurity, there would be no explosions in this ritual, sadly.

But with Nova's deadpan humor, it was hard to tell when she was joking or not. And, Elena, bless her Soul, took her joke literally and ran off into the Tomb before anyone could tell her. "I was joking!" Nova yelled at her friend a minute too late. "...Oops?" she added when everyone glanced at her with varying looks.

"She'll be safe once we finish this spell." Grams reminded the nervous teenagers, it soothed their worries, but just barely.

To ease the teenager's anxieties, Nova asked her Familiar to follow Elena. And after glaring at her for interrupting the nap that he had been taking in Caroline's arms, he went into the Tomb leisurely.

Grams started to gently pour the leftover mixture out of the pestle and into the wooden bowl that had been discarded earlier. Nova sat down near the Grimoire and turned to the last pages quickly, twirling the Celtic dagger in her hand absently.

"Your turn." She looked up at her sister with a smirk and repeated the words her twin had not long ago spoke towards her.

"Please stop smirking with a sharp object in your hand - it's creepy," Bonnie responded with exasperation coating her every word, she rolled her eyes with a sigh when all her sister did was grin wider.

Caroline wandered over towards them, looking down at the Grimoire curiously as Bonnie sat down next to her fraternal twin with her hand out. "Speaking of sharp objects... why the hell do you guys own a dagger?" The blonde questioned incredulously.

"It's been in the family for a while," Nova explained vaguely, unsheathing the dagger, contrary to her smirk, she gently sliced her sister's thumb.

"Witchcraft can be... archaic," Bonnie explained as calmly as she could to their alarmed friend who fretted over the minor wound. Bonnie hid her wince well as she quickly ran her bleeding thumb down the blank pages.

"Oh, well, that's kinda cool - but a warning would have been nice!" Caroline exclaimed to the sheepish twins, but the blonde was too busy watching the blood sink into the blank pages and turn into ink.

The twins carefully looked over the spell/ritual once more. Eventually, Grams finished preparing for the ritual and gave them a look that told them that no, she wouldn't be kneeling on the hardass floor.

The twins joined their Grams back into the pentagram. Once everything was sorted out, the Bennett Witches each clutched a smudge stick in their hands and gazed intensely at the sage for a drawn-out moment before each sage lit with a silent and unanimous;  _Ignis_

" _Insignis Animas fieri mundum_ ," Grams began chanting quietly, letting the burning sage in her hand drop into the bowl at their feet.

Nova exhaled as she felt the Magic start to surge around them again, her own Magic hummed beneath her veins, eagerly waiting for its turn.

" _Insignis Animas factus est mundus, sine onus purgatorio,_ " Bonnie chanted furiously, letting the burning sage in her hand drop into the bowl with an audible thud.

Nova could hear the sound of feet rushing out of the Tomb, but she ignored it in favor of staring at the smoke that arose from the burning sage.  _"Insignis Animas factus est mundus, sine onus purgatorio, ut Animas vestras pacem in Interitum, vel erit damnati in Inferno."_  Latin flew easily from Nova's lips, and with that, she let the burning sage drop into the now bubbling mixture.

In the end, they didn't get to see what happened to the desiccated Vampires. Turns out the undead really didn't like the smell of sage, the smell of sage wasn't poisonous, but it did make them and their sensitive noses uncomfortable.

But it was the fact that the twins could tell the smoke that rapidly filled all of the Tomb was also making her friends uneasy that made the Witches snuff the already dying torches, pick up their things and opt to check back the Tomb in the morning when the smoke was cleared.

Nova was the last one to walk out the Tomb, she avoided eye-contact by fiddling with the dagger that was once again unsheathed and in her hand. But she was eventually forced to look up when she felt the now familiar gaze on her, she flinched before she could stop herself.

Damon was being hugged by the ever compassionate Elena because even though she hadn't bonded with him as she did in ' _canon_ ', she was still Elena Gilbert, the person who tried to find good in everyone.

The cause of Nova's flinch wasn't the sight of her best friend hugging an unpredictable asshole, it was the sight of said asshole. She's never seen someone so heartbroken before.

Matt and Elena were sweet, and their breakup was unfortunate, but their love was puppy love in the end - it was the kind of love that didn't last past high school, the love you back fondly on when you got older and wiser.

Damon looked as though Katherine had pulled his heart out -  _no_ , he looked like her pulling his actual heart out would have been preferable. And that was the look that made Nova flinch, that made her try to hide her useless guilt with a calm facade.

Elena finally pulled away from the hug, and most of them watched silently as Damon walked away from them and deeper into the forest with clumsy steps. The glance Damon shot the Seer before he left told Nova all she needed to know - she really fucking sucked at covering up guilt.

"Are you gonna go after him?" Caroline questioned quietly as the group started walking towards the cars they had parked on the nearest street. The full moon was bright enough that they didn't really need flashlights but turned them on anyway.

Nova took a moment to place the dagger into her satchel before picking up Merlin, who protested at being picked up but settled down when she gently ran her fingers through his fur. "...I don't know, maybe - why do you ask?" She questioned just as quietly, busying herself with burying her nose into feline fur.

Damn, she blinked away tears as she thought about Damon's heartbroken face again. This was harder to shrug off than she thought, she wondered how the fuck Katherine managed to do it.

"As much as of a dick he is, he seemed really heartbroken and in need of a friend. You're the only person I can think of besides Stefan who he'd talk to about this without killing them." Caroline replied before biting her lip, she refrained from saying ' _duh_ ', but her best friend could see it written all over her face.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that anymore," Nova breathed out, there was an inquiring look on the blonde's face at that statement, but she didn't get to prod more as Elena slowed down to stand next to them.

"Stefan is going to drive me home and then try to find his brother," Elena explained to them once Bonnie also joined them in their sluggish pace. "Does anyone else need a ride?" she questioned.

Caroline nodded but the twins shook their heads. Bonnie told them that they would be spending a night with Grams to avoid their father for one more night before facing the music and the girls cringed in sympathy.

"Jenna was pissed at me too. Couldn't exactly tell her I was kidnapped by vampires, so now I'm stuck cooking dinner for a month."

"My mom grounded me. No sleepovers for a couple weeks, sorry guys."

Oh, that's what she forgot to do, Nova thought dispassionately while staring blankly at Stefan's back, idly noting that Grams was talking civilly with a Vampire. Well, at least no one called the police, or the Council, she mused with a frown now permanently etched on her face.

They all sighed in relief when the vehicles came into view. Nova's feet felt like they had gained a few more calluses and her shoulder was this close to being dislocated with how heavy her satchel is.

"Okay. Well, I, uh, guess we'll see you guys later?" Elena said with a question in her voice.

"Yeah. We'll have to update each other on what the fuck happened. I'd love to know how you guys got kidnapped." Nova finally spoke up, she discreetly spat out a few cat hairs - ew _,_ she thought while glaring at the superior look Merlin gave her _._

"Elena and I can stop by in the morning and we can go over how crazy our lives have gotten over breakfast?" Caroline suggested before she got into Elena's car, the girl herself was being booted to the passenger seat by her boyfriend.

"Deal," the twins responded in unison, the group of teenage girls shared hugs before going separate ways.

* * *

Once the Bennett women plus a feline Familiar were safely in their home, the women changed into pajamas and gathered in the kitchen for lavender tea and chocolate chip cookies.

After the day Nova's had, she had honestly forgotten her middle name, and so the conversation she had with Emily in her mindscape had completely escaped her mind.

So, it was quite a shock when Grams slipped a torn page on reincarnated Souls in the line of her vision.

"Oh," Nova breathed out lamely, with a shaking hand she set her tea down on the wooden table. Her heart felt like it had dropped into her stomach, she couldn't even spare a soothing pat for her distressed cat, who could likely feel her emotions.

"What is this, Grams? It kind of looks like it's from the supernatural encyclopedia..." Bonnie spoke with confused from, she was the one who picked up the page and ran her green eyes over the information greedily.

Grams and Nova shared a glance, the elder woman gaze was gentle and supporting towards the younger woman who was currently all nerves.

"Grams... Nova. What's going on?" Bonnie caught the look and wasn't stupid, unfortunately, that meant this conversation couldn't be put off any longer.

Nova sighed and fiddled with her braided hair, the movement made the hoodie of her batman onesie fall down. "Well... uh, how do I fucking do this?" she questioned to herself quietly, she startled Merlin off her lap when she abruptly got out of her chair and began to pace the floor like her best friend.

Who knows, maybe Elena is on to something with pacing when stressed, she thought as she paced around the relatively small kitchen. She blinked when she started getting dizzy when she reached the fridge for the third time in a few seconds.

"Your sister has something to tell you. It's something we've been waiting to talk about until it was the right time. I'm sure she'll explain it to you once she's done worrying about nothing." Grams stern voice cut through Nova's panic.

Nova reluctantly stopped pacing and leaned on the fridge, she sucked it up and held her twin's worried gaze. "Remember when I fainted like I trying out to be one of those damsels in those old movies?" She tried to phrase the question as a joke but failed to smile off her pain when her twin grimaced.

"It's hard to forget when your twin sister collapses during 'tea time'," Bonnie said with a scowl, the torn page laid forgotten on the table as Grams watched on silently.

"Right, well. I promised that I would tell you what happened that day, so here we are -"

"Almost thought you forgot about that promise," Bonnie muttered, interrupting Nova's grand speech she had prepared for this very moment.

"Never," Nova said vehemently, the twins shared a smile, the eldest twin finally calmed down enough to sit back down, this time in front of her sister.

She cleared her throat before she continued nervously but bluntly. "I wasn't always Nova Amelia Bennett," There it was, finally spoken aloud, in front of someone who wasn't feline.

Nova felt the instant relief at the fact she finally told someone, but just as immediately the relief was overtaken by overwhelming fear of rejection from the first person she had met in this universe.

"...Uh, what?" Bonnie finally spoke up, her eyes were wide and her jaw was slightly unhinged.

Under normal circumstances, Nova would be cackling while snapping shots of the slightly comical sight. But she was just about emotionally drained, so she just shrugged and opened her mouth to explain further.

But it wasn't really needed, as Bonnie eventually got her brain cells back when she glanced back at the torn page and then towards her twin. "Oh," Bonnie repeated the words her twin had uttered only moments ago.

"Yup," was the only thing Nova could say in response, and then in unison, the twins turned towards Grams, who had picked up the disgruntled Merlin and settled him on her lap instead.

"I know that you want answers, for a lot of things, but this is all I can give you because it's all I know," Grams slid the page closer towards the eldest twin, who hesitantly took it.

"Even in the supernatural community, reincarnation isn't the most commonly known - they're very secretive." The elder Witch explained, using her famed lecture voice.

Grams stood from her chair, preparing to leave the twins alone to talk, but before she left she squeezed her eldest granddaughters shoulder. "I'm going to let you know now, whatever ridiculous ideas you have in your head - let them go, it's who you are now that matters to me and right now you're my granddaughter and I love you." Grams spoke sternly, but her voice was warm.

The speech was similar to the one Emily had given her, but it meant so much more to her because this was coming from the woman who had essentially raised her and taught her the joys of Magic.

"Love you too," Nova returned with tears in her eyes that she fought back, she gave her grandmother a hug before the elder Bennett left the kitchen with a promise that they would talk more on the matter in the morning.

Nova rubbed Merlin's back as he stared at her with his vibrant green eyes, once he deemed her apologetic enough for nearly trampling him, he settled by her feet.

"It says that here that instead of being reborn in the same world, 'the soul travels universes'," Bonnie quoted, the torn page back in her grip as she looked over the page that Nova so far avoided reading.

"This universe is mostly the same as my old one, but with one big difference. There were no supernatural running around in that universe, to my knowledge," Nova amended with a shrug, she felt weird talking about it after all this time.

"Sounds nice," Bonnie replied slightly wistfully, but she was surprised when her sister snorted bitterly.

"Not really. No supernatural means no magic, which fucking sucked, for me at least. And when I... died, everything was pretty much going to shit." Nova explained as nonchalantly as she could, but she ended up cringing when the words  _'I died'_  fell on her lips.

And of course, that was the part Bonnie latched onto with laser focus. "I'm sorry... Here I am talking about how nice different universes must be when you...died to end up in this one." Bonnie apologized with a guilty frown on her face.

"It's fine. I've had years to get over it," Nova tried to shrug it off, but failed to hide her emotions for the millionth time tonight.

"But you're not over it... are you?" Bonnie bit her lip at her twin's silence, which she took as her answer. After that moment of silence, Bonnie reached to take her hand. "Do you need to talk about it?" she asked softly.

 _No_. Nova didn't want to talk it. She didn't want to talk about how she died, or how she died so fucking young. How she could still feel the flames eating her flesh and hear the screams at night - or how she couldn't tell anymore if the screams were her own or the echo of someone else who died that night.

The word was on the tip of her tongue. But Bonnie hadn't asked if she  _wanted_  to talk about it, she had asked if she  _needed_  to talk about it.

There was only one answer to that, "Yes," she finally replied, but it took her a few moments to gather her thoughts into words. Fear corroded her throat and made it near impossible to speak, but eventually, she found the words and they flew out of her mouth.

She explained how she died, who she died with - and after she told Bonnie every little horrid detail, she explained every little detail about her  _life._ She whispered her old name to Bonnie, how different her personality was in this life, how she vowed to do the things she wanted to do in her old life but never had the chance, or guts to do - the only thing she left out was the fact this world was fictional in her old one. That was the one secret she would take to the grave and back.

And her sister - Bonnie was the absolute best sister a person could have -, she listened on silently while Nova spilled her Soul out, she held onto her hand tightly, and cried when Nova cried. It was cathartic for both of them.

* * *

Nova was now sure she was insane; it was two in the fucking morning and she should be in her warm home, asleep. But instead, she was walking around town in the dead of night with her emotional walls torn to hell.

The talk between Bonnie and Nova had gone well, unbelievably well, she was lucky her younger sister was so mature and such a good listener.

After an hour of talking in the kitchen, the twin sisters had moved into the living room and talked for another hour before falling asleep on the couch. Nova had gotten at least thirty minutes of sleep before she woke up with the urge to pee and she managed to give herself a guilt trip in the five minutes she was in the bathroom.

Caroline's words had echoed in her tired brain - "As much as a dick I think he is, he seems really heartbroken and in need of a friend." - until she couldn't think of anything else.

And then there had been a stray thought that if any of her other friends had gone through what Damon had gone through she wouldn't hesitate to smother them with affection. And despite how their fucked up friendship was - they threatened to  _kill_  each other at least once a week -, she did consider Damon a friend.

Nova had tried to get back to sleep, but in the end, she had written hastily on a sticky note - explaining that she had her phone and would be back in the morning - that was now attached to her sister's forehead.

And now, here she was,  _walking_  towards the Salvatore Boarding house like the crazy idiot this town was making her.

Nova grabbed the paper out of pocket that she had taken on a whim before leaving the house, "Suck it up buttercup," Nova muttered to herself, she sat down on the nearest curb with the best street lights before unfolding it, eagerly scanning the elegant writing.

 

> **' Reincarnated Souls;**   
>  _Reincarnation is widely known by Humans and the Supernatural. As it is a Spiritual way of expanding one's life - and finding ways to extend life is popular with all species - and so it is wildly speculated on._   
>  _But the truth of Reincarnation has yet to reach the ears of very many Humans nor the Supernatural._   
>  _True information of Reincarnation is sparse, as they are a reclusive and secretive bunch. From what is gathered, they are known as Souls that have died in one universe, only for the Soul to travel into another universe and be born again into different flesh than the one they've had before. Imagine it, an adult mind and Soul reborn into the body of a babe._   
>  _Though it is rather reminiscent to the tales of the Fae Folk, or even the spooky tales of Spirit possession - may your minds be put at ease by the fact that while Reincarnated Souls bodies might be new to them, it is their bodies._   
>  _The how and the why is so far unknown, but it is guessed by many that are in the know that the cause of Reincarnation is a death traumatic enough to shock the person's very Soul. Complete drivel, of course, no one travels universes simply because of **shock**._   
>  _Nor has there been any evidence of Reincarnated Souls being able to be reborn into the same universe, it is unknown if it is even possible for them to go to any other Afterlife besides Reincarnation of the Soul._   
>  _The few people who have come across more forthcoming Reincarnated Souls have detailed a few ... abilities - or traits, if you will - that seem to be common among this Subspecies;_
> 
>   * **_The ability to sense other Supernatural Species,_** _much like Witches do, only on a lower scale_
>   * **_Soul and Mind Magic is nearly impossible to cast on them,_** _meaning they are protected from Vampire's compulsion_
>   * _**Deeper Bonds**  - note; these 'Bonds' with people seem to go Soul deep? Research further_
>   * _**Knowledge** , it might not seem like much, but all known Reincarnated Souls seem to have knowledge outside of our own. The reason might be because of the knowledge of another universe, complete reason unknown._
> 

> 
> _If you wish to identify these Reincarnated Souls, take a good look in the eyes of the people you meet; eyes are the windows to the Soul, after all - and their Souls speak louder than most._   
>  _That is all that is known of their abilities and oddities. Despite their Human flesh and bone, I urge vigilance around these crafty and seemingly all-knowing folk._

 

Nova sighed as she finished reading, she was disappointed in the information given. Although the narrative was slightly amusing, it wasn't anything she had already guessed. Oh well, at least this was proof that there were more Reincarnated Souls out there she thought with a hopeful smile.

* * *

Nova rubbed at her eyes with a yawn before pushing on the front door to the Boarding House, she rolled her eyes when it opened - arrogant Vampires - but wasn't surprised.

She wandered into the main living room, she didn't bother being quiet and stomped over towards the liquor table, she squatted down and grabbed the first bottle her hand touched.

She squinted in the dark, trying to read the label, but blinked in surprise when the lights turned on. She turned her head towards the sound of footsteps.

"Nova? What are you doing here this late?" Stefan questioned, he looked surprised to see her here - but it was nearly three in the morning and even Vampires needed a little shut-eye.

Nova finally tore her eyes away from his arms, blinking sleepily as her brain processed the question - she now couldn't wait to question Elena on how hot that sex was because,  _wow_  - she turned back towards the liquor table as she explained. "I'm looking for your brother. Is he here?" she asked while looking for the cheapest alcohol she could find.

"No. He left a few hours ago."

Nova pouted at the thought of walking more - she could give up and crash on the couch she's pretty sure Stefan wouldn't mind. But Nova was stubborn and her brain wouldn't let her sleep until she made amends with the asshole.

"Damn. I guess I'll have to track him down." Nova cursed her stubborn nature which seemed to have gotten worse in this life. Bennett genes kicking in, she supposed.

She sighed and stood up, a bottle of Jack Daniels now in her grip - her second favorite choice of alcohol and one of her favorite men, right behind Ben and Jerry.

"Are you sure you wanna go looking for Damon right now. You look..." Stefan questioned before trailing off, he looked at her in concern as he tried to find the right words.

When the fuck did he move? She stared at him with squinted eyes as she finally noticed he was like, right next to her. "Like I got bitchslapped by emotions?" Nova suggested with a glib smile that went away as she struggled to open the bottle.

"I was going to say tired, but yeah, that too," he replied dryly, swiftly reaching for the bottle and opening it for her - what a fucking gentleman.

"Ouch," Nova tried to act offended but was too tired to bother, she grabbed the now open bottle from his hand. "One thing you need to know about me is that I'm always tired. In fact, I'm the president of the local insomnia club," she explained tiredly, walking towards the still open door -  _oops?_

"Just be careful if you do find him. Damon can be... unpredictable and he isn't in the best of moods right now." Stefan cautioned her, folding his arms as he walked with her towards the door.

"I know. That's why I'm bringing this as a peace offering." Nova explained, shaking the bottle in her hand, accidentally spilling some of the alcohol onto her hand.

She left the Boarding House with her peace offering and said goodnight to the amused but still visibly worried Stefan. "He probably thinks I'm crazy. Oh, well. We can make a club, 'cause we're all mad here." Nova quoted to herself - don't judge her, the quiet streets were getting to her.

Focus, she reminded herself that she needed to find herself a heartbroken Vampire.

He wasn't at home. And unless he made friends while she wasn't looking he had nowhere else to crash. The Grill was always open for their town full of alcoholics, but she doubted he wanted to be around people right now.

She scratched her head as she tried to remember what she felt like she was forgetting.  _Oh_ , she looked around the empty road she was walking on and slapped her face when she finally figured it out.

Damon's favorite... trick in the show was luring his meals by faking an injury in the middle of a road and hoping someone was stupid enough to fall for it. And usually, people were that stupid.

Nova almost wept at the thought of walking more, but she sucked it up and went with her intuition and started walking towards the busiest road at this time of night.

Ten minutes and four sips of bourbon later, she finally reached the road and - yup, there that fucker be, she thought tiredly as she took in the sight of Damon splayed out in the middle of the road.

Nova decided to go with her patent, _'I don't give a shit'_  approach and started walking up to him with fearless, but clumsy, steps. "Fucking terrible night,  _amiright_?" Nova spoke in faux-cheer.

"...You knew." Damon stated blankly, ignoring her terrible conversation starter. Nova came to a stop when she was a foot away from him, she looked down at him, taking in his expression in the shitty streetlights.

She took another sip from the bottle just to cover up her wince - it wasn't the blood coating his mouth that bothered her, much - but it was the fact she could see something in his eyes that she had never seen before - raw emotion.

Every emotion she's seen on Damon's face so far has been distant, not completely gone, but definitely muted.

Shitty conclusion, Katherine faking her death was traumatic enough to bring his emotions back. Great that was fucking great, she thought sarcastically.

"You knew Katherine wasn't in the tomb," Damon continued bitterly when she took too long to respond.

"Yup," Nova was just filled with eloquent responses tonight, he glared at her for her nonchalant response.

She decided if she stood any longer her feet would be the one to kill her before anyone else - Emotional Vampires, a speeding car, Magical exhaustion, etc - and so she slowly lowered herself on the ground next to him.

"Would you have believed me if I had told you?" She questioned with a grunt as she laid her head next to his on the concrete road, she looked up at the few stars that were out tonight.

Damon was silent for a moment, but his silence gave her all the answer she needed. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you," Damon demanded while snatching the bottle of bourbon from her when she held it out in a silent offer.

She was tipsy, emotionally exhausted and probably shouldn't use anymore Magic tonight unless she wanted to faint or possibly die from Magical exhaustion. Meaning, technically he could kill her tonight without any problems.

"Two reasons actually. One, I'm your only friend in this town -" she ignored his snort and continued, turning her head to look at him. "And two, I'm the best person to have on your side when you get your revenge."

After taking a sip from the bottle, Damon turned his head to look at her, he checked to see if she was being serious. "Revenge?"

"Katherine is a total bitch doing what she did to you. It's only fair you get revenge, and I'll help you." Nova announced, graciously overlooking when he flinched at Katherine's name.

She had just come up with the plan, but she was loving it so far - or maybe that was the alcohol talking?

"What's in it for you?" Damon asked after taking a long chug from the bottle of Jack.

Dick was totally hogging the bottle, Nova thought with a frown, she sat up on her elbow and made grabbing motion at the bottle until he grudgingly passed it over.

"Contrary to... your belief - when I'm friends with someone I don't need a reason to help them," Nova replied with an offended tone, she took a small sip before lying back down, this time on Damon's shoulder - fuck that inconvenient pothole.

Damon sighed at the sudden weight on his shoulder but didn't push her off, which she counted as a win. Nova handed the already half-empty bottle back with a small amount of sorrow - but she didn't want to get drunk, that would be way too many hangovers in one week.

"Getting revenge on Katherine would entail us knowing where she is, so unless you've got a location in your crystal ball...?" He trailed off questioningly, but it sounded to her like he wasn't quite in the revenge phase yet.

Pity, but she decided to give him a few months before he got there. She would just have to help him get over her first, but easier thought than done. The only ideas she could think of was the routine the girls did whenever one of them broke up with a guy, she's not sure if that would work on a century-old Vampire, but she could  _try_.

"Nope. Sorry, that's one thing that not even I know," Nova responded with a small shrug, she looked around the empty street with curious eyes. "Hey, can I ask a question?"

"You just did."

"Hilarious, very original... but seriously, have you ever like... gotten run over?"

"What do you mean have I ever gotten run over?" Damon questioned incredulously, he looked down at her in disbelief that that was the question she wanted to ask.

"It's a valid question. You're 'hunting' in the middle of a fucking road, at night, wearing  _black_. I mean some jackass or oblivious soul has to have run you over, at least once...?"

Damon didn't respond to her slightly random question, he just tipped the bottle back and drank even more. But that petulant silence was answer enough for her, and she started giggling on his leather-clad shoulder, she kept laughing even when he shoved her off his shoulder.


End file.
